A Crash Course in Unspoken Confessions
by dll10
Summary: A story about overcoming obstacles and disabilities to find love, involves the introverted deaf werewolf Levi Varn and his imprint Krista George, a sweet and timid local from Forks. Spin-off from the universe created by yay4shanghai.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the talented yay4shanghai!**

**This story concentrates on former pack members Anna and Michael's son Levi Varn.**

**If you haven't read any of the stories from the universe created by yay4shanghai, I recommend you to take your time and read them. They are some of the most brilliant stories I have ever had the privilege of reading and have inspired several other amazing works by liljenrocks, ari11990, and AsagariMelody. This story takes place during the story All the Things it Was Supposed to Be, But Wasn't's timeline, so all of the other stories take place before this.**

**Thanks to my Beta yay4shangai for giving me all the background I needed on her characters and helping me go from writing scientific papers to fiction so I could start this story :)**

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Prologue – How did I get here

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13 December 2041

Ugh! With a great whoosh I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and let my shoulders fall forward in defeat. Defeated was my normal state of being nowadays. I pressed my forehead against the side of the house, it was cool and it felt good against my feverish skin.

I give up. Hell, I can't even really do that, considering I haven't actually managed to get started in the first place. That was the root of the problem. I had no means to communicate with her once we officially met. I could write her a letter, but then, I seemed incapable of even that. I'd started countless letters. My notebooks, laptop, and mind were filled with unfinished letters.

It wasn't just her; I didn't really know how to communicate with anyone on the outside. My world was a world of vampires and werewolves, everything outside of that didn't affect me. It'd been years since anyone new joined the pack circle; we were an enclosed community residing in La Push, open by invitation only. The last person to join was deaf, and before that was Phil's imprint Tara accompanied by her daughters. Back then I relied on Devlin to do the initial interacting, the first hellos and the explanation for my apparent rudeness.

I'm deaf, this can often be misunderstood for rudeness, I guess people think I'm ignoring them. Devlin always took the first step, but he refused to translate for people, forcing them to learn sign language if they wanted to speak to me. I loved this arrangement, because it gave me time to adjust and get comfortable with them while they were learning. I don't have that luxury anymore.

Growing up I never minded being deaf, most of the time I even considered it a blessing. Over the last six months I've had a hard time remembering why I would ever see this disability as positive. I was caged, incapable of communicating with the one person in the world I should, the one person I was supposed to. I'm certain that my frustration over the limitations it's caused has reached an all time high this evening. I can't stop pacing, my hands are stuck in constant fist, burning crescent moon shaped gashes in my hand. The funny thing is that it's not the hearing part I'm longing for, no. I don't know what it's like to truly hear and if it weren't for her I wouldn't care. It's being able to talk to her that I long for. Krista. My imprint.

Thoughts of Krista consume my every waking moment and I can't remember the last night she didn't star in my dreams as well. She's the center of my universe and I love her with my entire being. I'd been in imprinted wolves' heads, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was so wrong. That did nothing to prepare me for the actual experience.

Every imprint is different. They all have obstacles to overcome, like any relationship, though some have had it easier or experienced that final shift where the loving feelings become romantic much quicker than others. Knowing that hasn't eased the mounting aggravation I feel every time I mull over my progress, or lack thereof, to build a relationship with her. I felt like a failure.

It's been six months to the day since I imprinted. The craziest, most out of control months of my life and that includes my first months as a wolf training for war and losing a third of myself when Devlin died.

My life has changed in ways I could have never foreseen. I've taken up stalking as a past time. Apparently, it's a favorite wolf tradition, or so I'm told. I could put Ethan to shame and my dedication just might surpass Solace's. It helps that he taught me all of his tricks and I don't have to watch out for the fearsome momma-bear Claire. I'm not ashamed to admit that she intimidates the shit out of me.

My surveillance efforts do have their rewards. I've gotten suspended, ran countless miles in the black of night, and been arrested… just to name a few traits of the new Levi.

On the plus side, I get to see her everyday. I'm not sure I would survive if I didn't. I know it's been worth it, SHE is worth it. She's worth everything if it means another kiss or one more night on the beach. I can't even think about those events without becoming distracted for hours and that is something I can't afford to happen tonight.

I have to focus. I have to figure out a plan. I HAVE to act, tonight.

And that is why I'm standing outside the Uley's house, not technically stalking this time because I was invited. I couldn't go inside, that was a given. There was a party raging on inside, celebrating both Krista and Jesse's birthdays. Another endeavor by the pack to give me legitimate time with my imprint, but I couldn't bring myself to walk up the front stairs.

It hurt not to be with her, and I was willingly putting myself through hell by not just strolling inside and at least admiring her from afar. But it was all so much harder than it sounds, because I can't stop agonizing over how to actually have a conversation with her and not look like a completely idiot. I've tried, I've never wanted anything so badly in my life but part of me was sure tonight would turn out like the countless other failed attempts have.

The funniest part, and by that I mean how I know I'm truly pathetic, is that I can't even approach her. I don't want to blow it and besides, she doesn't know sign language. She must think I'm insane by now, either that or a stuck-up jackass, especially after what happened at the end of summer.

And once again I remember why it's so important that I suck it up and grow a pair. I have to get over my fears and insecurities and tell her how I feel. Before someone else realizes how amazing and perfect she is and I lose her before ever even getting my chance.

With that I pushed away from the house and turned to continue my plotting and pacing, desperately hoping for an epiphany.

I just barely managed to avoid crashing into Solace. He was close and I was so lost in my musings that I hadn't even noticed his approach. How long had he been standing there? I looked up, planning to ask when I noticed his lopsided smile. Great. That smile and I had gotten to know one another a bit too well over the last few months and its appearance could only mean one thing: he was about to give me women advice.

I sighed, waiting for the inevitable. Over the last few years I had been helping him secretly spend time with Maddox and to return the favor he had been helping arrange situations where I could be near Krista. We'd also shared some well intended, friendly suggestions that neither of us had yet to follow. At this point I was fairly certain we were both hopeless causes when it came to our imprints.

'You could start small, say hi or Happy Birthday. Instead of staring at her all the time, talk to her,' Solace signed and that right there was why I liked him. He was direct, unafraid to address the heart of an issue, and he offered sound advice.

I nodded to show I agreed with his assessment, but didn't offer up anything else. To be honest, I was worried he would be wrong. What if she didn't… feel it, that imprint thing?

'She loves you. Everyone can see it,' he continued, watching me carefully to gauge my reaction. I glared at him. Assumptions could be wrong and considering she doesn't know anything about the pack I had good reason to worry. One wrong move and I could scare her off for good.

I think he sensed that I had no intention of rehashing this debate, at least not without bringing the state of his own imprint relationship into play, so instead he smiled knowingly again and ended with a distracted, 'never mind.'

Suddenly, I caught Krista's scent stronger than before. I started to panic, pushing my back against the house so I could see her approach, but couldn't help closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath. I had to fight the urge to get lost in the smell of wildflowers, mountain air, and underlying hints of coconut, I needed to be alert, ready to run.

When the wind picked up it made my stomach clench, she smelled so good, I wanted to smell that everyday for the rest of my life. I loved how the strength of her smell corresponded to her mood. It was a language of its own, one I was just starting to learn and I hated not being able to see her so I could interpret if the change was a result of being happy, sad, scared or just nervous. She was shy and it couldn't be easy for her to be surrounded with people she was just starting to get to know.

My attention was so thoroughly distracted that it caught me off guard to see Solace slowly limping back towards the front of the house when I opened my eyes. Confused, I looked towards the back of the house, where I had watched Krista and Melody escape to earlier when I arrived, anxious to check on her. Before I could berate myself for not keeping a better eye on her and taking care of her, I was shocked to find her standing right in front of me. There she was, just like I had imagined innumerable times during the last 183 days. I froze and my breath caught seeing the glow her golden skin gave off in the moonlight and the flaming blush spread across her smiling face while she nervously bit her bottom lip and flexed her fingers.

I didn't think it was possible to love her any more than I already did, but no words were necessary to make me fall even harder just by seeing her make the first move where I had been too reserved.

My last coherent thought was that this was the moment I had been waiting my whole life for, now what do I do?


	2. Morning Adventures and Anticipation

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the talented yay4shanghai!**

**Don't forget to check out yay4shanghai's stories, especially the two she is still working on, All the Things it Was Supposed to Be, But Wasn't that this fic takes place during and my personal favorite, The Pathetic Ramblings of a Homosexual Werewolf, and the other stories in this universe by liljenrocks, ari11990, and AsagariMelody. They really are amazing!**

**Also, thanks to my wonderful and fabulous Beta yay4shangai for all her help and for letting me play with her characters. She's awesome!**

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Morning Adventures and Anticipation

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13 June 2041

The shaking woke me with a start. I shot upright as my eyes snapped open, immediately alert, assessing the situation and searching for potential threats, but finding none. Regular thoughts and reasoning kicked in about then, slowly catching up to my pounding heart. I took several deep breaths to regain control. My window was open allowing a slightly flowered breeze flow in which hinted at nearby juniper and lilac. The refreshing and familiar blend helped clear the haze from my head a little faster.

I was still a little disoriented when I looked first at the petite calloused hand on my shoulder then up at the familiar face of the person it belonged to: my mom. I didn't want her to see just how shaken up I was so I looked away, out the open window, and into the great expanse. Our house on the edge of La push was small but looked out onto a giant field of wildflowers so large it seemed endless. I used to love lying in that field for hours when I needed an escape growing up. I could focus on the blue, purple, and yellow flowers around me and practice distinguishing each one's unique scent while lying perfectly still. Remembering that and the tranquility that always accompanied, helped me mask the inner turmoil lingering from my dream.

My heart was still beating harder than was normal and I couldn't help trying to remember what I had been dreaming about, but you know how well that works. The harder you try to remember, the quicker the memory fades. All I could grasp was the overall sense of helplessness and apprehension that went along with it. I pretended to watch a robin hop around near my window so I had an excuse not to look back at her.

The nightmares first started when Devlin died. I hate them. At first they were like my subconscious's way of reminding me what happened, what I lost. As if I could ever forget. I wouldn't, not if I lived a thousand years. Now, it's just embarrassing to be seventeen and still have nightmares, but at least they don't happen as often anymore and I rarely remember what they're about. Nowadays they usually only occurred when something big was about to happen that I had been stressing over, like the anniversary of his death, formerly known as his, mine, and Melody's birthday. The worst part about the nightmares, I think, is that they always leave me feeling off when I wake up the next day.

I chanced a quick glace at my bedside clock and discovered the red glowing block numbers said it was just past eleven. No wonder she woke me up. I guess she figured I had slept a sufficient amount and already wasted enough of the day. I hadn't slept enough, not that it mattered, but I was unusually restless last night and didn't fall asleep until well after welcoming the new day's sun.

Looking back at my mom I noticed how concerned her eyes were as they assessed me. I realized I hadn't done a good enough job covering up my reaction this morning. I hated making her worry, so with a semi-genuine smile I signed, 'good morning.' She wasn't fooled.

'What's wrong, Levi? You never sleep late.' Besides me, my mom was the best at sign language now that Devlin was gone, she was quick and fluid every time. I wonder if playing guitar helped improve her agility.

'Nothing,' I signed looking directly at her, hoping she would drop it there. I saw her fingers twitch and knew she was about to press it, so I quickly added, 'I just miss Melody. I'm looking forward to seeing her today.' That brought a mischievous smile and a faint pink blush to her face.

'Yes, Taylor has been keeping her busy a lot lately,' was her only response to that. It made me grin too, both from relief that she was dropping the previous subject and because it was the biggest understatement of the year and we both knew it. The whole pack knew it too. She didn't give me a chance to tease her anymore about _how_ Taylor was keeping Melody busy before she changed the subject again.

'Solace called. He asked if you still wanted to go to the beach with him today since he has Chloe and Ava for the weekend. I told him you would, but if you aren't feeling up to it or if you'd rather spend the day with Melody and Taylor I can let him know,' she signed rapidly, not stopping until I held up my hand and shook my head forcefully.

'No, I'm fine. I want to go,' desperately hoping this was the end of my morning interrogation. Solace and I had been planning this for a few weeks now, since Phil and Tara first started planning their trip.

They were taking Hope, who was almost four now, to a parade in Seattle this weekend. Tara was pregnant, just a couple months to go now, with her and Phil's second child. She was having a boy and Phil was positively thrilled about it as he anxiously awaited the arrival of his son.

It was funny to witness considering most of the pack knew Phil wasn't a kid person until he met Tara. Now he devoted his life to his four and his wife. You would never know that Chloe and Ava weren't biologically his because they were all so close; they weren't interested in the parade though. I think it was featuring Sesame Street or some other similar television show, which meant the two girls begged to stay behind with their Uncle Solace instead and Phil would never dream of denying them something they wanted.

Living so close to his best friend had allowed Solace to become a huge part of the Lynch family's life. He never mentioned it, but he loved it. He especially loved Chloe and Ava because they provided him with an additional link to Maddox. Chloe had known about Solace and Maddie's friendship for years and had secretly passed messages between the two. She also shared private discussions between the two, which I'm fairly sure Maddie would kill her for if she knew.

Maddox was also the only problem Solace had hanging out and taking care of the girls. She hated that Chloe and Ava were allowed to while she still couldn't. It made her jealous and upset. Over time she got used to it, but demanded that he always have another wolf with him; she was a jealous imprint, even if she was uniformed about the connection.

I was his usual choice as second when he was babysitting for Phil. Jordan was usually too busy teaching or spending time with Mark and Eli, and he said the others all pried too much. He hated that and knew I wouldn't. I didn't mind spending time with them, mostly because he didn't pry either. It was nice, relaxing, not to try so hard and just be myself. I also liked spending time with the girls. They were impossible not to adore with their sparkling eyes and boundless energy. It also never ceased to be entertaining how dedicated Ava was to learning and practicing sign language. I could already tell that Eli would have his hand full with her one day and I didn't mind helping her get there along the way.

'He'll meet you at Taylor's around one then,' my mom signed after waving her hands in my face to regain my attention. I had been absently picking at a loose thread on my navy sheets, it was too hot for the actual blanket I left folded up at the foot of my bed, but she had my interest now.

'We're still on for lunch? You talked to Mel this morning and made sure?' I signed with a raised brow to show her I was skeptical.

She finished the discussion with a laughing nod, leaving me to get dressed for the day. I smiled my first real smile since waking up; I couldn't wait to see Melody.

I quickly grabbed the first clothes I found, a pair of dark blue board shorts and a plain white t-shirt, conveniently hanging off my bed post. I didn't even waste time bothering to comb my hair or find shoes. I traded my grey sweatpants for the new outfit before taking off and jogging the two blocks towards Taylor's new house.

Over the last couple of years things had changed between Mel and Tay, their love had shifted to the inevitable and the physical aspects that went along with that had finally caught up. Unfortunately for everyone around them, they were at the point now where the double imprint acted as a potent aphrodisiac. They couldn't keep their hands off one another and good luck trying to pry their lips apart for any length of time. Lately, they underwent periods of lockdown at Taylor's or disappeared in the woods, only to resurface days later completely lethargic, with blessed-out looks on their faces and reeking of sex.

We'd all had to pick up a few extra patrols that they missed this summer. Mark was even picking up a few although he had stepped down and let Freddie take his place just over a year ago. Mark had been a great Alpha, the best ever according to Seth and he has run with all of them since this pack was established, including Jacob, but there was no way Mark was stepping in and stopping the madness, neither was Freddie. What Taylor and Melody did, almost 24 hours a day, was their business, even if it meant I rarely saw my sister anymore.

When I arrived at Tay's front door I paused. Bracing myself, I inhaled deeply. I let out a relieved sigh when I caught the faint musky traces of sex; I was relieved because they were stale and not the stronger scents I had come to dread. This routine had become a standard practice when I approached this house or anywhere else Taylor and my sister might be.

I always comforted myself with it's a better warning than hearing them have sex. I will be forever grateful of that after seeing the look of horror on my father's face as he stared at the house when we showed up here the first time they locked themselves in together. I know it's what he heard that scarred him because my sense of smell and sight are better; sometimes being deaf is a blessing.

I would also never interrupt again either. I made that mistake once. Never again. I still don't know how I lived through that one. I can't wipe that memory from my mind even if I tried, and I have.

I barely had time to phase before she tackled me snarling and snapping her fangs while assaulting my mind with all the reasons why she was so pissed, describing in detail just how close she was before I interrupted. Oh and there were images, lots of them, in case I didn't get the point before that. I had nightmares for a week after that.

I checked the air again, sniffing cautiously just to be safe, and knocked on the door. I fidgeted while waiting, tapping my foot and drumming my fingers on my shorts, I was still antsy and just could not seem to shake it today.

The door swung open to reveal Melody looking radiant, entirely happy. She immediately jumped on me, giving me a bone crushing hug before pulling me inside. Taylor's house was a very small place near the beach. He didn't make much money as a police officer in Forks, a job he got through connections with Seth, so the house wasn't much, but his sister Amber, a very successful interior decorator, made the tiny place seem like a palace. The whole house was decorated in hardwood floors and light neutral shades that flowed from one room to another opening the place up and making it appear larger. The airy feel and muted coloring fit its dual beach and forest locality.

'Hi! How are you? I miss you so much. What have you been up to? When are you heading to the beach,' she signed while walking backwards to the taupe couch I noticed Taylor sitting on. He waved over her shoulder with a smile before catching her in his lap when she tripped over a shoe lying between the coffee table and sofa.

I watched him laugh at her. She responded with a punch in the shoulder then a kiss when he pouted. I couldn't help grinning at their antics.

'Answers,' Mel signed when she looked back towards me.

'I'm fine. Nothing's new. Maybe you wouldn't miss me so much and you'd know that if I saw you more than once every four days. I would ask what you've been up to, but I think I know,' I signed back, smirking at the rewards wrought by my ability to still make my little sister blush such an intense school girl shade of red, and at the triumphant look that covered Tay's face as he wiggled his eyebrows at me. Melody buried her face in Taylor's chest after a few moments of embarrassment.

'Are you guys hungry? I haven't eaten yet,' I signed to Taylor since he was looking at me over my sister's head. He nodded so I made my way to his kitchen.

I noticed his oak table was hidden beneath eight empty pizza boxes and several two-liters of coke when I got there. Looking back into the living room planning to say something about it, I saw that they were already back in deep stare mode, so I let it go.

Cooking has always been one of my favorite things to do. Growing up I spent hours with Jordan in the kitchen at his and Mark's cabin learning how and at home I usually made most of the meals. It was therapeutic and I loved trying different combinations of spices. I stir-fried chicken and veggies over rice for lunch today. I figured the two love birds needed something a little healthier after their pizza binge.

While chopping the vegetables at the kitchen counter I watched them, cuddled and close. When they were together the rest of the world just fell away, it didn't exist anymore. I am happy for my sister, really I am but I was jealous too, although I would never admit that to anybody. I want that bond, the closeness they share. When Devlin died half of me left with him, I was incomplete.

Being shy and deaf doesn't make it easier; there is no way to prevent the self isolation I tend to embrace. Imprinting would make it so much easier though, it had to be. I would be able to let someone in and know that that person would understand me and be perfectly suited for me. They would just get it, get me, and I wouldn't have to try so hard to let someone in. It would just happen.

I'm a wolf, so I could imprint too, but I don't think it's likely that I'll meet my perfect match. She would have to be deaf too and or part of the tribe, but you don't really meet that many deaf girls around here and I already know all of the ones at my school, I'd made sure to look each and every one of them in the eye a few years ago when I first phased. I also already know all of the wolf pack girls and I have seen at least half of the other Quileute girls… no luck so far. Maybe being deaf is like being gay, you can't imprint. Maybe it was a disability thing, imprinting was for the propagation of the wolf gene, and I was damaged.

Mel would kill me if she knew I thought like this. She wouldn't understand and it would hurt her to know. Since Dev died, she is doubly protective of me, taking on both my sibling's need to look out for me. Sometimes I feel like, without meaning to, she treats me as if I'm made of glass and will shatter into a million pieces if you don't handle me with kid gloves.

Tay and Mel joined me before I could get too lost in thought and went about pouring the remainder of the soda left out from when they got pizza over ice and searching for clean dishes before settling on paper plates for us to use. Taylor just shrugged when I eyed the forks he found. They were just finishing when the food was ready.

'Jordan is teaching a summer writing class today, you should invite Mark and Eli to join you guys at the beach,' Tay signed after devouring a few bites.

'Good idea. Ava will love it. Can you call him? Solace is bringing the girls here in a few minutes,' I signed back. Taylor nodded and pulled out his phone calling Mark. He signed both sides of the conversation while talking so I knew Mark agreed and that they would be there in about 20 minutes.

Signing anytime I was around, even if I wasn't part of the conversation was something most of the pack circle had gradually begun doing over the years. It really picked up after Eli was adopted. I liked that it was their way of making us feel included and that it made observing, rather than participating in a conversation easier.

The rest of lunch passed quickly. We talked about Randy's summer internship, what they missed during training, and we teased Mel about how long her hair was getting. It was nice, but it did nothing to calm the unsettled feeling building inside me. The whole day I was on edge, starting with the dream. It was a feeling I didn't really know how to explain, like there was something important I needed to be doing.

I was washing the dishes when Solace, Chloe, and Ava showed up. Ava immediately demanded that Taylor pick her up. I watched as Melody signed her lips moving in unison, 'Guess who is coming?'

Ava squealed and launched herself away, using Tay's chest as a springboard, then running around the room and bouncing up and down. It was funny, she didn't need more than that to know she was about to see her best friend Eli. Those two were inseparable.

'So I take it that you are excited to see your boyfriend,' Tay asked, halting her loop around the sofa and coffee table instantly.

'He is NOT my boyfriend,' I watched her respond. I hadn't needed her to sign that. It was clear enough from reading her lips and watching her cross her arms then glare at him. I know she was trying to look mad, but I could tell that underneath it she was scared. I remember Solace mentioning once that she hated us teasing her like this because she was afraid that Eli would find out and stop being friends with her, but we all knew that would never happen. He worshipped her.

Everyone laughed and Taylor just nodded before wrapping his arms around Melody, pulling her back down onto the couch and nuzzling her neck. Everyone was still laughing at Ava's reaction when Mark walked in carrying Eli a moment later.

'Did we miss all the excitement,' Mark signed after setting Eli down. Eli shot straight for Ava and the two of them began a rapid conversation about their days so far completely ignoring everyone else.

'No, we were just observing the next generation of love,' Solace responded with a bittersweet smile. He looked around avoiding eye contact then nodded towards the couch and added, 'we should probably go before they get to watch how future generations are made.'

I looked over and noticed Tay was half reclined with Mel on top of him and that they had progressed to full on making out. I had no clue where his hands were and didn't particularly want to find out. The two of them were completely oblivious to the rest of us still standing there, or maybe this was just how they silently said, get out.

So with that we set off for the beach, each of us carrying one of the kids, piggyback style. I walked next to Mark with Ava on my back. Mark and I shared a smile over her efforts to hang on while signing to Eli who was clinging to Mark's back. Solace dropped behind, but a glace back showed that he was riveted by whatever Chloe was whispering in his ear. One guess said that it was about Maddox, nothing or no one made him smile like that.

I love the beach and it was a beautiful day, but today I was compelled to walk faster, I couldn't wait to get there. Something was waiting for me, I could just feel it.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	3. Instant Orgasms and Life Changing Events

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**This chapter is told from Krista's point of view. The rest of the story will switch back and forth between Levi and Krista depending on whose side tells it better and some of the bigger events will be told from both.**

**Don't forget to check out the other stories in this universe!**

**Also, thanks to my fabulous beta yay4shangai for helping me get everything straight all her help sprucing this story up.**

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Instant Orgasms and Life Changing Events

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13 June 2041

Perfect timing, the clouds were just starting to burn off meaning my tanning schedule was a go. I heard the television weatherman say it would be sunny this afternoon when my mom was watching the news before work, but I hadn't bet on it, not in my hometown of Forks. It was a pleasant surprise to be wrong and I was looking forward to enjoying it by soaking up some rays at the beach. I would have hated missing out on one of the few warm and sunny summer days that occurred around here.

I guess I got lucky today, and not just with the sun. Today, like everyday this week was spent helping restock produce or run a cash register at my parent's organic grocery store here in town, but today they only needed help in the morning. That meant I was free to enjoy the rest of the day any way I wanted, well, as long as Beth was with me.

My parents are amazing. They have been married almost thirty years and are more in love now than ever if that is even possible. They met freshman year of college at the University of Washington in an Environmental Studies course and were married in a small ceremony early the next summer, and it wasn't rushed because they were pregnant or anything like that either.

After graduation they moved to Forks and opened Local Naturals, a small, but well stocked organic grocery store that sells local produce at reasonable prices. Business has always been good, but lately the store is doing better than ever. Customers almost always come back so my parents make a point to keep things casual and seem to be on a first name basis with everyone that steps through their doors.

At the start of summer they made a deal with me, they would buy me a new car if I was willing to help out at the store and with Beth for a few months in return. It was a great deal and so far I hadn't regretted it at all. The store had a laid back atmosphere and I was rarely forced to interact with customers, so for the last month or so I spent most of my free time there. It been too rainy to lay out at the beach, plus it was easier than the alternative, watching my little sister Bethany.

Seeing the weather made me rush to the reason for my summer employment, a brand new shiny forest green Honda Civic hybrid. The car was perfect for me, not too big and environmentally friendly. I was still in awe that they bought it for me considering that they know I'm not the best driver and that I like to drive fast, really fast. I was so grateful for the gift that I didn't even mind having to chauffeur Beth around.

When I got to the car I fumbled around in my purse searching for the keys and noticed I forgot to remove the bright green work apron with Local Naturals printed in thick red paint across the front. I tugged it off and looked around hoping that no one I knew saw me wearing it outside before throwing it in the backseat of my car so I wouldn't forget it tomorrow. I climbed in and headed to the other side of Forks where we lived so I could change out of my work clothes and find Beth. Hopefully, she will be in the mood to show off her latest sparkly red bikini at the beach.

Beth shouldn't really need a babysitter, she did just turn thirteen after all, but nobody I had ever met could find herself in a dilemma faster than Beth could. It wasn't that she was one of those angry destructive teenagers that lived to stir up trouble, it was just that danger followed her and she never really put much effort into avoiding it. She was one of those people that grabbed your attention the moment she walked in a room and she knew it too. I swear that girl thrived on it. Charismatic and fearless would be the two words that best described her. Everyone loved her and usually seemed to blindly follow whatever example she set, so to remain the center of attention she has typically surrounded herself with the people most likely to encourage and egg her on. Her biggest fault was that she couldn't say no to a dare, always living for the rush with no thought to the consequences.

Despite her faults, she honestly did care about her friends and the people around her. She wanted everyone to have as much fun as she did in life, but she makes no secret of her life's dream – to get out of Forks as soon as possible and be famous someday, no matter what it takes. Beth was one of the few that could drag me out of my shell, but it was usually only because she managed to drag me into her latest prank or endeavor.

I have an older sister too, Angelica or Angie, but she's not like Beth or me. In high school she was an All-American volleyball and softball player, in the National Honor Society, and class President. Oh, she was also Homecoming Queen and Prom Queen. Even though she never worked for that stuff and it came so naturally to her, you couldn't hate her because she has always had the biggest heart.

I miss having her around; we were always close when I was younger. This summer she is doing an internship at a law firm specializing in children's rights while volunteering at a free health clinic on the weekend before going back to the University of Arizona for her senior year this fall. She's hoping that this summer will help her decide if she is going to apply for law school or med school this fall.

Growing up I wanted to be just like her, but after a while I realized it was easier to hide in her shadow than disappoint people when I couldn't measure up to the impossible standards she set.

I love both of my sisters, my parents too, so much, but I have to admit that I honestly don't really see myself as anything like any of them. The similarities end with our looks. We all had the same blonde hair and green eyes, just like our mom, but that's it. I am a few inches shorter than our mom and Angie, and Beth is the same height as me right now, but she is still growing.

Instead of being smart, athletic, or outgoing, you can pretty much sum me up by saying I'm shy, painfully so. The only other quirks I possess are that I love poker, anything green, and being outdoors in the sun. You could also add that I don't know what I want to do with my life. That's all there is to know about me, well at least in my book, and most people don't even know that much.

The front door of my very modest two story home was wide open when I pulled in the driveway a few minutes later. Beth better be here, I thought on a constant loop as I cautiously approached the opening and almost screamed when I didn't get more than one foot beyond the front door before Sabrina, my best friend for as long as I could remember, hopped on my back causing me to stumble sideways into the door.

"Damn it, Bree! You almost gave me a heart attack. What in the hell were you thinking," I couldn't help shouting at her. She was the only person I felt comfortable enough raising my voice and cussing at, just like I was the only one that Bree could run on, and on, talking to.

Bree was my only close friend and I was hers. Sabrina's parents were never around so her grandmother, who could not be bothered, raised her, but she spent most nights at my place. She was abrasive, honest to a fault, didn't give a damn about public opinion, and loved calling people out on their bullshit. My favorite thing about her though, was that she liked to thoroughly research topics before making any opinions about them herself. She liked to joke, saying it prevented her from becoming another mindless-middle-class-suburban-American-drone, aka a sheep. Another thing about Sabrina, she was beautiful. Though she didn't notice or care, which suited me just fine because I knew nothing about makeup and the frilly parts of being a girl.

"We're going to the beach. End of discussion," she practically yelled in my ear. It was her no nonsense, serious, life or death voice.

"As if I was planning to argue, you know how much I love laying out at the beach," I responded exasperated while unsuccessfully trying to pry her off me. The grip she had tightened instead.

"Well, I had to warn you before I dropped the bomb. Just let me finish ok. Nikki and Kai are coming with us. I know. I'm sorry, but when I got here Beth said that there was no way she would go if it was just the two of us going. Something about too boring when her friends are all over at so-and-so's place instead. Then Kai called and asked for a ride. We don't actually have to hang out with them," Bree hissed in my ear. I finally regained my balance so I could lug Bree into my vintage-inspired family room off of the front entrance.

Growing up we were close to Nikki and Kai. The four of us were an impenetrable unit then, but that was before puberty hit and Nikki and Kai decided they would rather chase boys, waste all of their energy trying to impersonate a Barbie doll, and slander anyone they considered an enemy.

"You're serious?" Was the only reply I could come up with before falling on the teal love seat, successfully detaching Bree's vice-like grip around my neck and rolling off her, wondering if I heard correctly.

"Well yea. It was the easiest way to keep Beth happy. Plus, they offered gas money and besides, you said you wanted to get outside your comfort zone this summer and work on being more social. What better way than to hang out with the Plastic Twins or at least observe a few pointers," Bree chirped, trying to spin this in a positive light.

"You know what, I don't care if they go, it's finally sunny and I don't want to waste it," was all I said. Sometimes it really is just easier to give in.

"Excellent! Now go get dressed. They're in your room, but don't let them force you to wear something that makes you uncomfortable. Call if you need backup, otherwise I'll be rounding up your sister," and with that she was gone in a flurry of bouncing brown, blue, and purple curls while I headed upstairs to get ready.

* * *

We arrived at the beach one swimsuit mishap and twenty minutes later. Only three other cars were in the lot so I was able to nab a spot in the front row. The second we parked Beth took off, so much for her wanting Nikki and Kai around. I let her go, not feeling like wasting the sunlight chasing her around or listening to her whine. I knew she was pissed that her friends weren't here, but she knew just as well as I did that she would have no problem making new ones here today.

Or maybe she would. I was pleasantly surprised by how empty the beach was on one of the rare sunny afternoons. There were just a few little kids with their parents and a group of people I recognized from Forks High School. I personally loved having the beach to myself, but I knew I was alone in that.

The four of us walked towards the water looking for an open spot with more sand than rocks and was relatively flat to laid out our towels before we stripped down to our suits. I looked around and found Beth not too far away talking to a couple girls around her age before I sat down happy that she was taken care of for a while.

"I can't believe you didn't wear the suit I brought for you. That little black number would have made you at least appear to have curves. The top was a push-up," Kai remarked after looking me over and making it clear that she thought I was an idiot for passing up the opportunity she provided.

"Sorry, it was too small," I mumbled quickly, laying face down hoping she would drop the subject and I could relax during my afternoon off. Considering how little her and Nikki's matching hot pink string bikinis covered, I knew there was no way I would ever be able to wear those scraps of material she called a suit. They knew it too, which is why I didn't like most girls and rarely hung out with anyone except Sabrina. Girls were deliberately spiteful and deceitful.

Besides, I personally liked my two piece; it showed enough to get a good tan without being slutty. Considering we were at a public beach, near our home, I chose a suit appropriate enough that I could wear it around my father, unlike theirs. And the best part about my bikini was that it was the same shade of green as my eyes with gold accents that complimented my hair.

"Whatever. It's better for us this way anyways. So, should we start a game of beach volleyball or go to the cliffs," Kai asked sounding excited. I looked up to see her scanning the beach. She stopped when she noticed the guys from school and nudged Nikki before pointing them out. Target acquired.

"Beach volleyball, definitely. More bouncing," Nikki decided with a wink, jumping around a bit to warm-up or something.

"I think I'll sit this one out. Sorry guys," I told them before they could drag me along. I was not at all prepared to handle what they had in store for the day.

"Oh come on Krista, you never want to do anything fun. Besides, how do you ever hope to land a guy if none ever see you," Nikki remarked looking down at me with her hands on her hips. She sounded sincere, something I haven't associated with her in years. But hearing her say it so plainly brought all of my insecurities to the surface. I knew what kind of fun Nikki really meant and I knew I couldn't because I wasn't witty or clever and I wasn't willing to get wasted and sleep around either. I never cared that they did, to each his own and all that, but hearing her say it like that made me wonder if things would always be like this for me if I didn't join in.

"Hey, I'm not playing either so back off," Bree jumped in to save me. They didn't dare question her. No one did unless they wanted an earful.

"Figures. You two are totally lame, let's go Nikki," Kai threw back over her shoulder with a toss of her hair since the two of them were already strutting across the beach.

I watched them sashay off swinging their hips and noticed that every guy's head they passed turned to follow their progress. I wished I could be that self-confident, but every time I tried I turned into a gibbering uncoordinated mess that either turned beet red and passed out or clammy and sallow before throwing up. It was debilitating and I hadn't found a way around it yet.

"Don't let them get to you," Bree commanded as soon as they were far enough away. I knew she was watching me, but I couldn't respond.

I didn't look her way, but heard her moving so I assumed she wasn't going to push anymore. The tension slowly melted away as the sun warmed my stiff muscles.

It was almost two hours later when Bree spoke up again, picking up right where we left off.

"You know I hate to agree with Kai, ok with anyone, about _anything_, but she was right about one thing. You'll never get noticed if keep hiding," she voiced slowly. I took in what she was saying. It sounded so close to what my own thoughts had been that I sat up to look at her before responding.

"You think I should act like them," I asked incredulously. I couldn't believe Sabrina of all people would give me this advice. She has always been completely honest and thoroughly against as she puts it, 'letting the stereotypical role defined by our society determine our actions.'

"No, of course not! I don't think you should be anything but who you are. I just want you to let someone other than me, or your family, see you. I know you wouldn't be happy with someone that only liked who you were pretending to be. I do, however, think that you need to make a little effort so they see you at all," Bree said all this in a rush, perhaps fearing I wouldn't let her finish. She should know better by now. I always at least listened to her advice and right now I knew she wanted to say more, she didn't stop at one speech usually.

"I just think you'd be happier if you took steps to make it easier for a guy to approach you and you didn't always freeze up or run away when a guy showed interest in you. Guys are delicate and it discourages them you know," Bree finished with a snicker she couldn't quite hold back, effectively ruining her straight face. I couldn't help laughing too.

"I just want a guy that _sees_ me, ya know?" I told her. I wasn't good at expressing myself so I was counting on years of friendship for her to get everything left unsaid from that.

"Things don't really work that way. You have to make some effort. It's no different than poker. There has to be an initial bet if you want in and you have to call if you want to stay in the game. I've never understood how you could risk it all in a hand of poker, but you weren't even willing to play when it comes to dating. Kris, I know you. One of these days you are going to meet the perfect guy for you and you're going to wimp out," Bree stated firmly. I could tell she put a lot of thought into this and was trying to be nice while still being helpful. It still stung and didn't make it any easier for me.

"I don't know how. I've tried, you know I've tried," I whispered defeated. Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this.

"I know. I just hate that…" Bree trailed off completely distracted. She wasn't even looking at me anymore. I waited a minute for her to get over this little trip and start in again. She didn't.

"Hello? Earth to Sabrina? Are you still there, Bree," I asked trying to snap her out of whatever trance she went into. Worry was starting to take over and it wasn't because I feared something wrong with her. No, this was worry about what the look in her eye and if I were honest, the drool on her chin, meant for me.

"Oh god, you have to look at that guy over there. He is the most gorgeous, flawless, god-like man I have ever seen in my life. He must be a model or an actor or maybe he really is a god," she whispered urgently nodding towards a spot a little behind me and towards the right when she unfroze.

"I'm serious. When have you ever known me to exaggerate like this? I mean fuck, all three guys are positively sublime, but that one…just looking at him is like an instant orgasm," she added pointing and waving her hand as if she were fanning herself off because just looking at him had given her heat stroke or a hot flash.

With a roll of my eyes over her ridiculous behavior, I turned and found myself facing perfection. Bree really hadn't exaggerated, and maybe she was serious about that orgasm after all. The guy was magnificent.

"No, not him, the one farther to the right sitting a little apart from the others. I think I'll need a cold shower after this," I heard Sabrina panting when she realized I hadn't gotten past the first guy.

I had to force myself to look away so I could see the other guys. Understanding dawned when I saw the guy Bree had lost it over, but as far as I was concerned he had nothing on the first one. This man looked down-trodden, and a little old, only in the eyes, his dark eyes were sad.

Not even five seconds past while I looked over and appreciated the other guys before returning to the first one. I never wanted to look away again, never wanted to see anything else for as long as I lived. I felt like a magnet with an invisible force pulling me towards him, but I couldn't move a muscle. I heard Sabrina chuckle and whisper to go talk to him, sounding almost giddy over my reaction to the sight before me, but I ignored her.

Time stopped while I took in every detail I could possible absorb about him. He was stretched out, his posture relaxed. He was tall and lean with streamline muscles I was able to watch ripple beneath his dark coppery skin. His skin looked like velvet. I wanted to touch it, see if it was as smooth as it looked. His chest and abs were amazing. They looked too perfect to be real, it wasn't possible. The dark blue of his shorts created a wonderful contrast against his skin. I'd swear he was a marble statue if he wasn't that reddish-brown color. He looked powerful and there was a stillness about him that reminded me of some kind of animal preparing to attack, maybe a panther. He had a small smile, but it didn't show his teeth. I wanted to be the one making him smile. I wanted to make sure he was never not smiling. I couldn't see his eyes and I desperately wanted to.

There was a boy crouched next to him and together they were building an elaborate sandcastle already almost two feet high. I watched them interact and I followed his hands as they expertly molded the sand into a circular tower at the edge of the castle. He had long graceful fingers that would occasionally move so fast they seemed to blur. At first I thought that they weren't talking, but after staring for at least five minutes, or perhaps fifteen, I realized that the two were signing to each other.

Did that mean he was deaf or was the kid that was with him? I hoped it was not him because how could I ever talk to him if he was? I'd seen sign language, who hasn't in this day and age, but I didn't know any. I almost laughed or maybe cried at the direction my thoughts had taken. As if any of them mattered. It's not like I would ever have the courage to approach him anyways and there is no way he would be interested in a timid mouse like me.

Unexpectedly, he looked up bringing his eyes directly in line with mine. It startled me to suddenly be looking so openly into his eyes after wishing for it only a few minutes ago. From here they looked coal black, like obsidian, and deep, endless even. At first he seemed just as shocked as I was, but a second later the look changed and it seemed to become more mesmerized. But I knew that couldn't be right. Why in the world would he be captivated by the sight of me?

I thought I heard him make a whimpering sound just before his rapt attention was broken and he looked towards his friends. They said or I guess signed something rapidly before he turned back towards me. We stared at one another for another minute before I abruptly crashed back into reality when he smoothly rose to his feet and took off running. And just like that it was over, but I still couldn't help noting how fluidly and sinuously his body moved as he ran.

It was incomprehensible, I just couldn't believe it. I was reeling from the mere sight of him, incapable of moving and he ran away. He ran and didn't stop, slow down, or look back before disappearing into the woods at the edge of the beach, the woods along the opposite side of the parking lot where my car was. Those kinds of thoughts have to stop immediately, I told myself. There was no way I was going to follow him. But was it my fault? Had I made him uncomfortable staring like that? And where was he going anyways? Does that mean he lives nearby? Will he be here again? Should I look for him tomorrow?

The whole episode lasted twenty, twenty-five minutes at most, but I could already tell that it had changed my life. I'm not sure how or what it means, but I knew it was true. I could feel it, like gravity.

Dazed, I subconsciously noted Sabrina moving closer and snapping her fingers in my face. When that got her no response she began shaking my shoulders and calling my name. She stopped when I finally dragged my eyes from the spot I last saw him and looked at her, certain shock was written all over my face as I turned completely to face her. It was the first time I really moved since first seeing him.

"Did you see that? Did that really happen," I had to ask. I had to make sure it wasn't a dream or all in my imagination, brought on by too much sun and heat.

"Umm…yea? Wow. That happened, but I have no idea what it was all about," she confirmed. After a pause, during which I'm positive I remained frozen, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"I don't really know. Are his friends still looking over here," I whispered, wanting to know, but not willing to check for myself.

"Yes."

"Ugh. Let's go. This is killing me, I can't stay here any longer," I desperately begged her. I could feel the heat getting worse in my cheeks and it was getting harder to breath; I would pass out if I didn't get out of here soon. I hated when I got splotchy, but at least I didn't throw up this time. That would have made this ten times worse for me and I was already at the point where I was willing to do whatever I had to if it meant the ground would open up and swallow me, just to make this end. The next best thing would be to run away. I guess _he_ had the right idea after all.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Just grab your sister and I'll locate the Drama Queen Twins then meet you at the car. We can be gone in a couple minutes. Deep breaths ok," she assured, already finished packing up our stuff then handing me mine and Beth's dresses before getting up to look for the Wonder Twins.

Jumping up too, I slipped the dress over my head and made my way towards the giggling trio of girls splashing in the surf. Everything was a blur, but I saw Beth, in the center doing handstands. It looked like she was trying to see how long she could hold it without getting knocked down by a wave. Even upside down her blonde hair and golden skin was a stark contrast to the dark hair and light brown skin of the two girls she was with.

"Beth, hey come on. It's time to go," I called when I got close enough. I think my voice was steady, but I was far from positive. It still startled all three girls causing Beth to fall and the other two to look around. Somehow I managed to grasp that they looked confused, so I followed their line of sight back to the two guys and young boy still sitting where the man of my dreams just ran from. Man of my dreams?! Oh my, I really needed to get a hold of myself and fast. I jerked back around immediately and uselessly questioned myself again, would this day ever end?

"Where did Levi go," I heard the older girl question. Levi. So that was his name, it had to be. I liked it. Just hearing his name brought me serenity and restored order to the chaos of my mind long enough to throw Beth her orange sundress.

"I don't want to leave now, Kris. I just met Chloe and Ava and we're having fun," Beth said with a furious look, but pulled the dress on anyways. I wasn't sure if she was pissed that I made her fall or because I wanted her to leave and honestly at this point I could care less. The brief bout of calm I experienced when I learned his name was gone and a few more minutes of standing here will mean that I won't be able to leave without help. And I just wanted out of here, but apparently my sister couldn't tell or more likely didn't care.

"Actually, we should go too. I promised Maddie I would make sure Solace ate a good dinner before I called her later and I bet he is getting hungry by now," the older girl said again. I was barely holding it together at this point and almost completely oblivious to what was happening around me.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Make sure you bring the information about your mom's dance class," Beth called before grabbing my arm and skipping towards our car. Telling me all about her new friends and how I just had to talk mom and dad into letting her take dance with them.

I scarcely heard a word Beth said; not processing anything beyond the connection between hearing her voice and walking towards the parking lot meaning I was leaving at last. When I finally glimpsed the car, I had never been so grateful that Sabrina was my best friend as I was when I saw her already waiting with two other very disgruntled girls. As we piled in, I shot one last fleeting glance towards the tree line where Levi disappeared and could have sworn I saw a flash of russet fur, but it was gone by the time I blinked and attempted to look closer.

Levi was all I thought about the entire drive home. I was sure that was his name and I couldn't get his face out of my mind nor was I sure that I wanted to. Had I ever seen another guy that gorgeous? Definitely not in person my mind quickly reassured me. Well I had one question answered. Before I knew it I was parked in our driveway. When had I dropped the others off? Did they say anything to me while we were in the car? Did Sabrina tell the others about what happened? No, she would never do that to me. I'm sure she covered my zombie impression too. I'll have to ask when I see her tomorrow and I should probably thank her too while I'm at it.

The second I shut and locked my car door I was off. Nothing penetrated my senses as I ran inside and upstairs, locked myself in my bedroom at the end of the hall, threw myself face down on my full sized bed and screamed into my pillow. It didn't really help relieve any frustration, but I was past caring so I screamed again thankful that the sound was muffled so that no one would come in to bother me.

Afterwards, I stayed there with my head burrowed in my gold pillowcase and replayed everything that happened, but all that did was bring up a never ending list of questions. Why? Why me? Why, couldn't I approach him? Why did he run away? What was he thinking? Will I ever see him again? Is he thinking about me too? Did I offend him staring at him like I was? Does he think I'm a freak? Levi. Who is he? What does he like? How old is he? Why haven't I ever seen him before? Is he as perfect as he seems? Does he have a girlfriend? How could he not? Who were those people with him?

I had never felt so overwhelmed before in my life. Floodgates had been opened in my mind and the questions pouring in just would not stop. There were ten more questions waiting to rush in each time I was able to isolate one. My mind was a chaotic disaster, spinning and jumping all over the place to the extent that I actually felt dizzy. At one point it registered that I was fairly certain some of my questions were repeating themselves, but I was past the state where I could recognize which ones if any did. I couldn't concentrate on any one thing. It was exhausting.

I'm not sure how long I lay there, before I realized it had finally stopped. No more thoughts. I welcomed the numbness that accompanied my new empty state and took another moment to collect myself.

At that point I sighed and rolled over. Even that much movement made me lightheaded. This was ridiculous. I felt weak and pathetic. My phone rang, but I knew it was Sabrina so I clicked ignore and turned my emerald green flip phone off in case she tried to call back. There was no way I could deal with her questions on top of my own right now.

I crawled into my bed, not bothering to change out of my suit and cover dress, and pulled the ivory and gold embroidered quilt over my head pretending it could block out my thoughts and help me fall asleep. I wanted a nap before dinner to help put things into perspective or to find out if this whole day had been a dream.

Hopefully, I thought wistfully just before sleep claimed me, I can get some answers before I drove myself crazy.


	4. One Look Changes Everything

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me. I'm really excited that you like the story so far and I hope that you'll keep reading.**

**It's great to be part of the Team! They are all very talented writers, so don't forget to check out the other stories in this universe.**

**Also, thanks to my beta yay4shangai for being her fabulous self. **

* * *

One Look Changes Everything

* * *

13 June 2041

The beach was astonishingly empty when we arrived, just a few teenage guys definitely not native so they were probably from Forks, several young children with a group of women who looked to be their mothers, and an elderly couple already packing up to leave.

I preferred coming here when it was deserted like this, crowds and rowdy masses in general made me uncomfortable. Unless they only consisted of people I knew, then I could handle them and often even enjoy it. I love watching my friends' and family's antics. They were the most effortless and relaxing when held here on First Beach, because I felt more at ease if I was outside in the open air.

The sky was still predominantly overcast, so that might have something to do with the lack of people. While not readily apparent, I detected that the sky was gradually clearing. I also predicted that the remaining clouds would disperse swiftly. I attributed my weather forecasting skills to the whole wolf thing, but I suppose they might be a benefit of being deaf as well, like how some people feel aches when the weather changes if they've had surgeries. Then again it might just be the result of noticing reoccurring patterns that I have picked up on during the countless hours spent outdoors growing up.

Upon reaching the beach's parking lot, Mark and I turned Eli and Ava loose in order to search for the perfect spot to camp out at for the afternoon. They took off running, headed directly for the same spot without needing to discuss it first. It was a really sweet moment to witness.

Mark and I waited next to the forest lining the parking lot for Solace and Chloe to catch up. Reaching the beach did not alleviate my anxious energy as I had hoped, but I was momentarily distracted from worrying about it by my curiosity about what Chloe revealed to put a smile that substantial on Solace's face, but I wouldn't ask. It was none of my business unless he volunteered the information.

Chloe sped off to join the others once Solace reached us and together we followed at a leisurely pace. It was easier on Solace's leg if he moved slowly. The winning spot turned out to be a sandy patch directly ahead that was just out of the high tide's reach. Eli was already stomping around in an effort to pack down the area while Ava was a little ways off collecting piles of similar type and shape white shells and various colored rocks when we reached them. Chloe, on the other hand, was lounging off to the side watching the other two working.

'They're planning to build a sandcastle. Ava wants it to be huge,' Chloe signed with her arms stretched out as far in front of her as she could reach. She was lying flat and bending backwards to grin up at me since I was standing right behind her. Apparently, even though she was a graceful dancer this position was too hard to maintain, because she fell over a second later and rolled around in a fit of laughter.

Shaking my head I turned to see that Mark had lain down and thrown one of his massive arms across his face to cover his eyes. It looked like he was preparing for a nice long nap using his balled up towel as a pillow and had possibly fallen asleep already. I pointed his image out to Solace.

'Poor pup, isn't as young as he used to be,' Solace signed back with a brief smile. It was supposed to be funny, but coming from him the words contained so much more meaning. I looked him over and felt sadness at the realization that his dazzling smile and the content look were already faded beyond recognition, replaced with his usual melancholy, broken appearance.

His pain and loneliness were always visible these days, had been for the last few years. It hurt to look at him and most the time I was at a loss on what to say to him, which was kind of ironic because I know that's how most people felt around me since Devlin's death. I angled my body away slightly and pulled off my shirt, just as an excuse to not to see so many of my own feelings staring back at me like they always did when I acknowledged our similarities.

I was one of the few wolves that didn't use summer as a rationale for remaining in a continuous half-naked state, at least not in public. My purpose, unlike Solace, wasn't to hide any scars. It also wasn't to be overheated and miserable all the time; that was just a preferable alternative to the humiliating amount of unwanted interest I received otherwise.

It never really made sense to me why they stared more when I was shirtless, but they did. It wasn't as if I had Solace's looks and subtle hints of mystery women were apparently helpless to resist and gave many men wet dreams about. I didn't have Taylor's easy going fun attitude that was so approachable or his charming manner that also disarmed men and women alike. I was just me and I didn't have much going on in the appearance or socializing departments. Besides, people already had enough reasons to stare at me; there was no way I wanted to add to that.

Even if it didn't bother me, I had no desire to have a string of meaningless relationships that I could never let myself get emotionally invested in because that would only bring misery to everyone involved when it ended. And it would end; I witnessed the carnage left behind from too many failed attempts not to be certain. Take Tay for example, he had, for all intents and purposes lost his brother because of the Trisha debacle and to this day I see how much it affected him. Leah and Solace are both classic examples as well, and Amber, you can take your pick there from a number of ways she got hurt. I was better off waiting until I found my imprint and if I never had one then…well that was just fate.

I took my time folding up my shirt and setting it down next to Mark and out of "Project Sandcastle's" way to prolong avoiding putting Solace and myself through the awkward, forced attempt at conversation he would feel obligated to make right now. That was the last thing I needed when I was already so on edge today, but I had nothing else to use as a distraction right now. Standing back up reluctantly accepting that I had to quit stalling, I was saved by Chloe waving at me. Guess I was in luck after all.

'Will you throw me in the waves? Please, Levi?' She signed before dropping to her knees, clasping her hands just below her chin, and giving me her biggest puppy-dog eyes. Damn. She knew I was a sucker for those.

I pretended to think it over for a second, tapping my chin, then shook my head no at her. That got me the lip too. In that moment I doubted ever having seen a more adorable kid, kneeling there in her two piece decorated with abstract swirls in multi-pastel colors. She had big her pleading eyes, if possible, even larger and rounder than before, and now her lip-glossed bottom lip poking out as far as it would go. I was a goner, but I still made a production out of accepting it by sighing and rolling my eyes at Solace before dropping my head down in defeat.

I waited like that while she elegantly rose back up onto her feet trying to hide her smug look. Then, before she could react or even understand what was happening, I lunged using my wolf speed to scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. Her limbs were flailing around everywhere and I could feel her laughing against my shoulder as I took off running for the water. I barreled through the waves as far out as I could before the water resistance slowed me down too much then launched Chloe straight into the crest of the oncoming wave. A second later she popped back up reaching for me and giggling ready for another one.

All of the pack kids loved doing this. With our wolf strength we were able to really send them flying sometimes. It was the closest thing to cliff jumping their parents would let them do at this age. And it meant a wolf was always nearby so no one had to fear drowning or hypothermia because they could just cuddle close between throws.

Shortly after, Solace joined us toting Ava and Eli, one under each arm and dangling above the water. They were getting drenched each time a wave crashed over them and didn't look like they minded in the least. He and I took turns tossing each of the munchkins and dodging each other's attempts at surprise dunkings for a while after that. It helped me relax more than anything else had today.

Eventually, Ava and Eli lost interest and moved to a shallower area so they could sign more easily since Eli was already squinting without his glasses on.

Less than a minute later I was under attack when Solace swayed Chloe over to his side and the duo doubled up against me, now I see how adorable Chloe really is. Traitor. Eli's timely interruption saved me from my failed endeavors to defend myself, apparent as I fruitlessly struggled to maneuver out of Solace's headlock. He splashed us until we stopped and looked over at him. Ava's bright turquoise one piece stood out even though she was hanging back a little, partially hidden behind Eli and purposely not watching our exchange.

'Levi, can we go see the tide pools,' he asked with an unconvincing innocent look on his face and his chubby cheeks were a little more flushed than normal. I raised my left eyebrow at Solace when I noted his amused expression. So he thought they were up to something too.

I nodded anyways, positive nothing too devious or alarming would result from whatever they were up to and that they would let us know soon enough. So with that I headed back to our spot on the beach pausing to pick up Eli and wave bye to the others.

"Pa, Pa, Pa," Eli began shouting as he pounded a fist on Mark's stomach once he finished drying off.

'I'm up. I was just resting my eyes, promise,' Mark signed after a few moments, not moving anything but his arms and hands.

"Pa," Eli whined again dropping his towel on Mark's face and searching through his father's cargo shorts' pockets for his glasses. The combination of actions successfully got Mark to sit up this time. Mark blinked a few times adjusting to the now bright sunny day then carefully wrapped the towel around Eli's neck so his shoulders were covered and would not get burnt.

'Levi is taking me to the tide pools. I'll see you later, alright,' Eli signed when Mark was done. He was bouncing on his heels so much that it made it a lot harder to see what he was saying, but once he finished he sat back completely still, waiting to make sure it was ok. Mark located the elusive glasses and handed them over waiting until they were on before replying.

'Have fun and be careful,' he signed with a smile that still looked a little sleepy. He watched Eli jump up and climb on my back before leaning back again to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

No one else was around when we got there. Walking over to a smaller pool, I sunk down on one of the smoother rocks lining the edge and dangled my feet in the water, content to passively observe Eli scrambling across the nearby boulders. It was always relaxing to hang out with my cousin. We were close despite our age difference and our mutual deafness helped us form a unique bond within our little community. He was like a little brother to me, except without the annoying feelings most siblings felt. I loved him so much. He entered my life at the time I most needed a diversion and has never failed to provide one.

The months just before he showed up were hell. My dad was destroyed, utterly devastated by the loss of Devlin and how it happened. Most days he resembled a zombie, frequently still did in fact. And my mom, she's tough, stronger than the rest of us that's for sure, but in the privacy of our home it was blatantly apparent that her pillar of strength appearance was no more than an illusion, one that it was taking everything she had to maintain. She was just barely keeping it together and I doubted she could hold on much longer. Melody was lucky, she had Taylor and with the help of their imprint was often able to escape reality and cope by getting lost in him. I survived by retreating into myself, pushing everyone but Mel away and spending much of the following months locked in my room laying in bed.

It was during those last couple weeks leading up to Eli's arrival that I made the conscious decision about it being time to start moving past the deepest stages of my grief and make an effort to start living again. I hadn't wanted to, it was excruciatingly painful and I felt an enormous sense of guilt, but I knew I had to for my parents. I could see that my behavior was making matters worse for them. They were having such a hard time that it became unbearable to know that I was causing them additional misery because my actions up to that point were continuing to worry them.

I started small, occasionally accompanying my parents or Mel and Tay when they visited the Wahallas or Mark and Jordan, even if I did sit apart from everyone and stare at nothing waiting to leave. I also attended the biweekly wolf training sessions Mark decided should become a permanent feature of active wolves' duties, but I didn't phase. At least I was physically there for those things and finally getting out of the house.

It was something, but the real changes came later, after I started taking in my surroundings and interacting with people again. This breakthrough actually happened the day I met Eli. It started off as one of the worst, most difficult days I had had in a while. My parents almost literally had to drag me out of bed and make me go to the party being thrown to welcome my cousin and celebrate Phil and Tara's impending marriage.

At first things were as horrible as ever and I couldn't bring myself to even try. I stood separate from everyone around me, silently counting the minutes until it was over and I could leave. No one approached me and avoided looking at me if they could. That unintentionally made the internal struggle I was fighting worse; none of them knew how to treat me anymore.

The first person to get over it and just be herself was naturally Soli. She whacked and bashed her way through the icy walls serving as my defense and keeping me numb in true Soledad fashion, using her usual style and manner to do what no one else could or even tried to do. It was exactly what I needed.

Dealing got a bit easier after that, not much but enough, although it didn't stop me from stubbornly clinging to everything I had left of him, a habit I still indulged in and probably would for the rest of my life. Half of my closet still contains all of his clothes in the room we shared; untouched since the last time he was in the room even though they no longer contained his scent. I had an unspoken agreement with my parents about it; the clothes would stay until I decided it was ok to pack them up, not before and under no circumstances were they ever to be gotten rid of. And that was just one of the things I did to hold onto Dev and keep him with me.

I started hanging out with people again after that party. It was easier in one-on-one situations or with family. Other than Mel, the easiest person to be around was Solace. Living with him alleviated any obligation I felt I owed my parents to interact with others and did manage to relieve the majority of their concerns. I didn't mind his company, it was refreshing and made me feel a great deal less screwed up; he had his own issues and they dwarfed mine. And as an added bonus at the time, he conveniently didn't know sign language so we didn't actually have to talk. We could spend hours dwelling on the past together while each was buried in his own mind. But being around him did nothing to help me move on.

Other than hanging out with Solace, as much time as I could handle was spent at my uncle's cabin getting to know Eli. He was great. His constant happiness and endless supply of hugs helped fill a small portion of the void Dev left and aided me in forgetting my pain for short periods of time. I could only manage small doses though before I felt and gave into the urge to retreat once more.

It helped that Eli never walked on eggshells around me, with him there was no before and after, he never met Devlin so nothing changed after his death. I regretted that they never got the chance to meet and felt guilty that at the same time I was grateful for it. I knew it was selfish because I know they would have loved each other immensely, but I needed someone in my life that wasn't grieving too.

Watching him now, I felt amusement bubble up inside me. He looked like he was posing for a photo shoot, a towel draped around his neck and leaning against the rocks with his arms crossed looking off into the distance wearing his black and white Prada swim trunks, a present from his godfather's Jace and Lawrence. It was rare to catch him so still for more than a second or two at a time. I acknowledged how lucky Mark and Jordan were to be able to bring him into our family. Eli turned to face me then.

'Let's go back. I want to make sure we have enough time to build Ava's sandcastle,' he signed. He was wearing his signature Ava grin, the one that made his eyes shine and his rosy cheeks get a little redder, it always made an appearance when he saw her or was talking about her. I almost asked why she didn't come with us, but he volunteered the information before I could.

'She should be done now.' I raised a brow indicating he should elaborate as he hopped along the rocks making his way back over to me. 'She had an idea and wanted to ask Chloe and Solace about. I don't think she wanted to tell me so I didn't ask what it was about,' he finished, putting his arms out for me to swing him up and onto my back.

As soon as he was in position he dug his heels into my sides and pointed forward spurring me on. My heart rate picked up and I experienced the strongest and strangest pulling sensation, but I couldn't place where it was coming from or what it was pulling at, just an all over intangible feeling. For a second it seemed like a current ran through my body leaving my nerves ultra sensitive and jittery. There was suddenly no where else I'd rather be than back at the beach so I headed back moving faster than I probably should have.

When we got back the feeling increased so I put Eli down with the intention of letting him run off to find Ava, but he didn't make it more than five steps before we both saw the girls playing with a pretty blonde girl I had never seen before. Eli looked disappointed and maybe a little put-out when he looked back up at me. I didn't want him to feel that way so I decided to just ignore whatever was happening to me, maybe it'll just go away on its own.

'Want some help building your sandcastle? We could surprise Ava when it's finished,' I signed down to him. He instantly cheered up and ran over to the spot he prepared earlier.

Eli put me to work building massive towers and decided every time he looked at them that they needed to be bigger. At the same time he worked on making a mound that would be the central part. Mark, finally awake, was sitting nearby talking with Solace so after finishing the first tower I snapped twice at Solace getting him to look at me.

'Do you want me to come by later and watch the girls so you can see?' I signed. This had become pretty standard for us.

'I'm not sure that's a good idea today. Ava and Chloe already got it into their heads that it would be a good idea to kidnap Maddie for a slumber party tonight,' he signed back looking like he was still contemplating the merits of such a plan even if he never would do it and risk loosing his access altogether. Since Claire had discovered that Solace was climbing into Maddox's window for years she nailed the windows shut, enforcing a strict schedule of supervised visits, thought Solace still found ways around it.

So that had been the plan, it made sense though why Ava didn't let Eli in on it. He was too sensible and would have talked her out of it.

"I take it you still haven't talked to Claire again about adding some visiting hours," Mark said while signing as he jumped into the conversation.

"Not after the blow up… and I don't blame her at all. She was right about everything she said about me, so I guess that means she was right for saying no," Solace defended himself also signing so I could follow along. Claire was a subject I knew better than to touch with Solace. Talking about her never did anything but send him into a deeper depression.

"Things might be different now that Maddie's a little older. It wouldn't hurt to try," Mark shot back. I was surprised he did, but maybe he has the advantage of having been friends with Solace longer so he could go there.

"Nothing's changed," Solace responded then looked away, effectively ending the conversation. I suppose I was right because he looked even more despondent now.

I went back to working on the sandcastle trying not to think about anything at all. I needed a break. That was when I first felt like someone was watching me, but I purposely ignored it. It left a lingering sensation sort of like an itchy feeling, but I refused to scratch it finishing a second tower instead.

It came back stronger when I started on a third tower, but again I pretended it wasn't happening. This time the lingering feelings reminded me more of a spot that had been scratched raw, it made the feeling harder to ignore as I kept adding additional sand then molding and manipulating the pile until it resembled what Eli wanted for Ava's castle.

Patting the sand again to ensure it retained its shape, I looked over at Eli who was in the process of building walls to connect the two completed towers. He looked it over critically, squinting then closing one eye and using his hand to compare the heights before judging if it was finished or not.

'It's still too short. It needs a little more on top so that it is the same height as these,' he signed and pointed at the two towers by him. I looked it over too, making sure to take this serious because I knew how much it meant to him.

'I think you're right,' I signed back then grabbed another handful of wet sand and dropped it almost immediately as the tremor spread along my body.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a chill ran down my spine, again. This was the third time in the last few minutes. I knew I wasn't imagining it. I felt like I was being watched and now I could detect a searing trail tracing a path down my chest then back up again before settling on my face. It wasn't just itchy anymore. This felt more like I was being burned.

I hunched down as much as I still could ending up almost completely lying down on my side in a vain effort to make myself less visible. I knew it was pointless; being a wolf went hand-in-hand with being huge and so far it wasn't working to make whoever it was stop staring. I didn't want to look up and see the person; that would be more than embarrassing. I continued trying not to look, making a concentrated effort to focus on building this tower of sand instead.

My heart was pounding faster than it ever had before. The feelings of dread and discomfort were slowly being replaced with anticipation. It was confusing and I couldn't take much more of this. I took a deep breath hoping that would help and smelled the most appealing and unique scent I had ever encountered and it was powerful enough to overshadow the ocean and beach smells typically encountered around here. There were wildflowers, like the field by my house, but smelling it now didn't inspire the usual tranquility. The other dominant scent was clean, fresh, and pure like the mountain air I loved when I went hiking. Beneath those I could also detect a tropical flavor, a hint of coconut like the one I always associated with Eli's sunscreen, but I knew this was not coming from him. This fragrance just stirred me up even more and finally I just couldn't stand it any longer.

The instant I accepted defeat my head snapped up and I was looking directly into the most incredible pair of clear green eyes I had ever imagined. I was hooked, it was impossible to look away, but then why would I want to? My insides were filled with pandemonium, but I hardly paid it any mind.

I was too busy staring at an angel. I swear that's what she looked like. Her skin was such a beautiful shade of golden brown and the light sheen of sweat made it look like it was glowing, as if she were surrounded by a halo. Her blonde hair had a million different colors like gold, sunlight, sand, honey, champagne, take your pick. She was tiny, not as much short, but as delicate. She could get hurt; I feared a single touch from me would break her.

Her expression conveyed so many emotions. I marveled at being able to read her like a book; I picked up curiosity, fascination, and confusion right away.

She was absolutely breathtaking. I literally could not catch my breath the first few seconds I spent looking at her. Nothing existed beyond her, the rest of the world just vanished.

It took a moment for the bedlam and commotion to recede and almost hit myself for not understanding sooner. I just imprinted. It was so much more than…_everything_, compared to what I had been told. But there was no way someone that perfect could be meant for me. She looked too sweet and untainted by the harsher realities of life. There was no way I could be right for her, that I could be good enough. I was too messed up, had lost too much of myself with Dev, incapable of regular socializing, not good looking enough – it would be an epic mismatch.

A stray thought wondering if it really was more intense for me and if it was, was that a side affect from being deaf occurred, but I filed the concept away to contemplate later. And immediately following that, panic set in. What if there was no later? What if this was some sort of cosmic mistake?

I had no inkling what to do now, where to start, how to approach this or her. It was too much to take in. I couldn't handle everything I was thinking and feeling right now. I had only felt like this once previously. I needed to release at least some of the tension and emotions if possible. No sooner than the thought occurred, I felt a peculiar vibrating sensation and unfamiliar pressure in the back of my throat and roof of my mouth and the air in my lungs seemed trapped. Everything around me snapped back into focus when it was over.

I had to know if this was real, what was happening, and what I should do, so I looked to Mark and Solace for answers. Mark looked so proud. His phone was in his hand, he must have texted Jordan already. I guess that means it's real. Solace looked conflicted. He was smiling the warmest, most genuine smile I had ever seen including the one earlier today, but his eyes were sadder than ever and bright as if he were going to start crying any second.

'Go on, go talk to her,' Solace signed with Mark nodding next to him.

'She's your girl. Go meet her,' Mark added when I didn't move. He threw in a shooing gesture that earned a chuckle from Solace.

Turning back I made eye contact with her again. I was like seeing her for the first time and imprinting all over again. I feared, and secretly hoped, it would be like this every time for the rest of my life. That brought back the panic.

Without ever really deciding to, I was standing then running. Not towards her, no. I was running for the woods, like the coward I was. My survival instincts had kicked in and I was acting on autopilot now.

I almost didn't make it far enough in before I phased. I never even noticed if I was shaking and it wasn't planned so I shredded my board shorts in the process. Letting the wolf be in control made it a little easier to get a grip on my emotions and I got lucky because no one else was in my mind. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from slinking back to the edge of the forest so I could watch her.

She was standing by the water talking to the girl I had seen earlier with Chloe and Ava. The dress she was now wearing looked amazing on her. It was the same color green as her swimsuit, strapless, and edged with gold braiding.

My eyes followed her as the girl grabbed her arm and pulled her all the way across the beach and to a car. She looked a little out of it and I could detect the most charming blush covering her cheeks. She didn't say word the entire time and now she was staring at the spot I was standing in. I knew she couldn't see me, but I was worried about her driving when she looked so stunned.

Driving, that meant leaving. What if I never see her again?


	5. And So It Begins

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me. I'm really excited that you like the story so far and I hope that you'll keep reading. **

**It's great to be part of the Team! They are all very talented writers and the characters all have their own great tales to tell, so don't forget to check out the other stories in this universe.**

**Also, congratulations to yay4shanghai for winning The Sparkle Award for Best Original Character for her story The Pathetic Ramblings of a Homosexual Werewolf!**

**As always, thank you yay4shangai for being so encouraging and basically the best beta ever! **

* * *

And So It Begins

* * *

13 June 2041

I had never seen her before so I don't know who she is. She might not even be from around here. What would I do then? I answered that without hesitation and with no uncertainties in my mind; I would follow her anywhere and never look back. It was instinctual, part of the all consuming need to be close to her that filled my very soul during the better part of the last half hour. Nothing could change my mind, not even if I never got the chance to be a part of her life.

My decision made, I followed when she pulled out of the parking lot. Without even delaying long enough to notify the others; my only thought was tracking her. The wolf was completely in charge now and like a hunting dog, I used her remarkable scent to sniff out her trail.

It was hard to stay hidden in the trees and let her out of my line of sight, instead of chasing right behind the bumper of her civic coupe like a stray dog, but with a determined persistence I managed to run back and forth dodging branches and leaping roots through the woods lining Forks. I stayed parallel or perpendicular to her route while she zigzagged around, crossing and re-crossing the same streets until she finally lead me to her destination.

None of that really mattered or registered at the moment because I had been over the moon since I realized she lived here in town, so close to my own home. That meant one less obstacle, from a very long list of potential complications, needed to be hurdled. When she parked in the driveway of a neatly manicured white two-story house and stumbled out, I grinned, thoroughly amused that it had taken her over 30 minutes to drive the 15 or so miles home.

I was even more thrilled to discover that the back of her house was conveniently nestled against a dense set of woods. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the street to make use of them.

An animalistic need to see her again made me too impatient to meander through the trees until I found a place that allowed me to go around. Instead it drove me to do something I ordinarily would have considered too risky and foolish to contemplate while in an unfamiliar neighborhood and even more so considering it was happening in broad daylight. With a quick look to check that the area was empty, I sprinted the distance past the house in front of me, across the street, and around the back of her house into the brush at the edge of her yard, running faster than I knew I was capable of.

I think I got lucky and no one saw, and if they did, I doubt they would believe their eyes. So here's hoping Freddie never finds out about that little stunt. I am not willing to sit through the lengthy lecture he would surely impose if he did.

The pull that compelled me to leave the beach and follow this girl I had never met was still leading me, but a quick search of the air to catch her scent confirmed that she was upstairs and at the other end of the house. I made my way that direction, padding through the denser undergrowth.

I could see in the room, but not completely and more importantly, I couldn't see her. I needed to see her. The need was driving me; the world could be ending and I would still only care about seeing her one more time. Looking around, I searched for a good tree that could double as a stake out. Finding what I was looking for only took a minute; it was an older oak that looked sturdy enough to support my added wolf weight. I didn't want to phase back and be assaulted by my thoughts again or chance someone seeing a naked boy sitting in a tree spying on a girl in her bedroom. That couldn't possibly go well.

It was astonishingly easy to claw my way up to a branch at the prefect height and get settled so I was lying down facing her window, I figured all that climbing as a kid helped even when I was a wolf. The spot could not have been better. It had a direct view into her room and there was enough foliage to cover me since it was located a few trees back from the yard.

Once I was situated, I took in the sight of her, ecstatic to see her again. Right then, I had no desire to ever look away again. She was lying face down on her bed with her long wavy blonde hair fanned out around her. Why? Was she ok?

In answer to my silent question, she turned over and less than a minute later picked up her phone, pushed a couple buttons then tossed it back on her nightstand before burrowing under her bed's heavy quilt and closing her eyes. Her movements were hypnotic, but it didn't escape me that on one of the warmest days this summer she was using such a thick blanket. I wondered if that indicated she got cold easily.

I was so curious; I wanted to know everything about her. I had always been a curious person, but never was a subject more fascinating.

The most peaceful expression covered her face while she slept. Knowing that she was safe and happy allowed me to finally relax. The tension slowly drained away and to prevent its return, I refused to think about the future or anything that might happen later. Instead, I basked in the sight of her.

This was something I seldom did on purpose, enjoy the moment. I suppose I was usually to busy observing and analyzing the going-ons around me, but for now there was only her and the joy that accompanied having finally imprinted. I found my other half; the person fate determined was perfect for me. If this was real, then the rest would come later, probably sooner than I expected, but I would wait and deal with it then.

Closing my eyes and taking deep breaths, I memorized her appealing aroma, wanting to remember it always. The desire to see her again was too irresistible so I added trying to brand her face into my mind so that I saw it every time I closed my eyes while I persisted in my quest to commit her scent. I took in her smooth flawless skin and the faint pink in her cheeks thinking that it must be a result of the sun because it didn't fade in sleep. I saw that her eyelashes, which were a few shades darker blonde than her hair, delicately brushed her cheeks and fluttered occasionally. I loved how much fuller her bottom lip was compared to the top and contrast in color with her cheeks, because they were a shade more nude than the pale pink staining her skin. I wished I could taste them.

Time lost all meaning as I continued a deliberate and meticulous examination of her face wanting to memorize every minute detail. I focused only on her, ignoring anything that threatened to divert my attention and interrupt my careful study.

It did feel a little weird to be watching her without her knowledge and approval. Does it count as stalking if it's only my imprint I am watching? This was something that the other wolves unanimously agreed about, no it didn't. I wasn't sure if they decided in its favor as a result of so many of them having done so, and now I understood why they did—the pull was too strong to fight, or if it had more to do with knowing we wouldn't cause them any harm so there was nothing to worry about. It didn't really matter either way because nothing would prevent me from sitting outside her window every night from now on.

Things were a little different in this situation than most of the other wolves' cases. I had to be more careful because she knew nothing about our world, the world where nightmares, or fairytales depending on the point of view, were real. And I was one of those monsters. Again, that stuff would come later. First, I had to get to know her then I had to see if she could fall in love with me. I wouldn't have to worry about telling her the wolf stuff if she didn't want me and that was a very distinct possibility.

The setting sun indicated that time hadn't stopped for the rest of the world and that it was getting later, but she still hadn't woken up yet. My stomach growled when I smelled food cooking in her kitchen, but it wasn't painful enough to entice me to leave. She hadn't moved so I didn't either.

Solace's mind popped into my head then. He didn't say anything at first and I was too engrossed to ask. Besides, I didn't need any company or disturbances while I was watching her. It took more effort than I cared to spend in order to push the images coming from his mind aside.

_**Goodbye privacy, at least it lasted a little while.**_ That caused him to chuckle. For a moment I was stunned that I slipped and he heard it. Generally I take after my uncle Jordan; I live entirely inside my head, and like my uncle I had amazing mind control, which I apparently lost when I imprinted.

_**How are you doing with that?**_ He asked without preamble and it was easy to detect the concern attached to the casual inquiry. I was still far from ready to deal with everything I knew would be facing me in the near future. I wanted to remain in the happy bubble that enveloped me after phasing and learning that she was from here.

_**You're staying there then? Good, I'm already on my way. **_He let me know and I noticed the trees flying past him as he made his way to my location.

_**Why? Did Mark and Jordan send you?**_ I didn't mean to make them worry, but I wasn't thinking straight at the time and I didn't want to go find them now.

_**Of course we're worried, we care about you. Jordan made dinner, one of his grandma's pasta recipes. I volunteered to bring you some. We figured you must be hungry, but wouldn't want to leave any time soon. **_

_**Thanks.**_ I loved when he made those and it sounded great since I was unexpectedly starving now that I knew it was one its way.

_**Mark also let Anna know that you were staying with me to help watch the girls tonight. We assumed you would want to be the one to tell your parents, but didn't want them to worry when you didn't come home. You should go see them in the morning.**_

_**Thank you, again. It really—thanks.**_ I was touched that they did that for me and didn't know what else to say. I didn't plan on asking and I tried not to think it, but it was out before I could stop it. _**Do you have any advice on what I should do? What to do next or how to make watching her easier?**_ I wanted to smack myself then for being so pathetic. I was ridiculously lacking when it came to this stuff, but I was aware that he had a lot of experience in all of these matters. Asking him made the most sense and I trusted that he would help without making me feel even more pitiable, at least it was him that I turned to for guidance. I wasn't even trying to control my thoughts anymore.

_**This was actually the other reason I offered to bring dinner. I'll always be willing to help if you need or want me to. Don't be afraid to ask for it. If you really want to know what I think, it's that you should talk to her.**_

_**I can't. And before you suggest it, I won't have someone translate. Don't push this.**_ I had my reasons, but I wasn't going to get into them now.

_**Alright. As for watching her, a few tips to start with—don't be seen, don't get caught, don't invade her privacy, don't overreact to anything you see or—umm, yea that you see or you'll give yourself away. That should cover the basics for now. In a few days I'll teach you some disappearing tricks. Those are good to use with vamps too so we can cover them in training.**_ This conversation should be disturbing, but instead I found it oddly reassuring. Solace arrived then, looping up to my tree with a lumpy black canvas bag tied to his back. _**Before I forget, Chloe told us her name is Krista. **_

He phased back then and the bag fell to the ground suddenly too loose. Excitement filled me then at having a name to go with the still sleeping girl. Krista. It was as beautiful and enchanting as her. He had already dressed and was pulling an extra pair of matching gym shorts from the bag when I jumped down from my perch. I trotted over to him and he threw them at me so I phased back and put them on.

My thoughts weren't nearly as overwhelming as I expected them to be. The euphoria that came along with having just spent a couple hours getting my fill of the site of her and now knowing her name formed its own little bubble in my mind. The bubble expanded enough to block out the insecurities and fears and they weren't sharp enough to pop it. I was very relieved about this when I noted the number of tupperware containers Solace also removed. I was happy that my appetite wasn't ruined and I could enjoy dinner, although I wasn't sure how I was supposed to eat that much food.

'He got a little carried away, but I'm sure you'll manage to finish it all anyways. It's really good tonight, I ate with the others before heading over,' he signed when seeing my incredulous look.

I breathed in, expecting the appetizing scent of garlic and mint and instead identified a lavender and chamomile fragrance of someone else nearby. Looking back at her, Krista's, window I was shocked to find a girl with massive multi-colored curls standing there. A second later she turned and walked farther back in the room.

'She was with Krista at the beach today,' Solace signed when he saw my confusion and slightly concerned expression. It took a moment for that to sink in, because I was busy trying not to do something rash at what I automatically perceived as an unexpected threat to Krista's safety.

'I didn't notice her,' I signed to him. Thinking about it, I cocked my head to the side massaging the back of my neck out of habit and realized I really hadn't seen anything past Krista. He urged me to start eating before saying anything else and I dug in.

'That doesn't surprise me. She just told Krista's parents to let her sleep and not wake her because she was probably exhausted after her excitement at the beach today,' he let me know to reassure me further and clue me in on what I missed hearing. Excitement? Was that good or bad and did it have anything to do with me?

'Anything else,' I waited as long as I could before asking what I knew I should not ask, because asking would be an invasion of privacy, but I had to know. I had to see if there were any answers to my questions. I was already almost finished with all the food at that point.

'Nope, just chatting nonsense now. If you're good here then I'm going to head back to pick up Chloe and Ava now,' he signed, not willing to leave if I needed him. I nodded and gave him a grateful smile that I hoped he knew was for everything he did tonight as I packed up the empty containers. He returned the smile, stripped and phased, then let me tie the bag back around him and took off.

I didn't phase back after he disappeared; patrol started about now and I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I also didn't want congratulations when nothing certain had been accomplished yet. That thought made me shake a little, but a few lung fulls of wildflowers and mountain air helped me get myself back under control.

I climbed back up the tree then and leaned back, content to spend the next few hours watching Krista sleep. I loved having a name to go with her now. She was a calm sleeper, hardly moving an inch. Not even when the other girl I'd seen came in about two hours later and joined Krista in bed. She rolled over and fell asleep quickly as well.

I stayed like that the rest of the night, not daring to fall asleep in case I woke up to find it had all been a dream or something happened to her and I failed to protect her because I was sleeping. I had never been so aware of one thing, one person, before in my life.

It was just before six when I headed home, leaving prior to the sun coming up anymore. I hadn't gotten very far before the rush of feelings, all indicating an eagerness to get back to her, filled me.

When I got home I set about starting the coffee then making whole wheat blueberry pancakes, toast, and bacon, or meat candy as Taylor jokingly refers to it, since my parents were still asleep when I arrived. It was still pretty early for a weekend after all.

I munched while cooking, eating at least as much as I made to keep busy when all I really wanted to do was head back to her place and watch her sleep for just a few more minutes. Eating also served to subdue the worry and doubts creeping back in. They were harder to ignore when I couldn't smell or look at her as a distraction. As it was, every thought I had inevitably lead back to her for one reason or another.

I had just laid the spread out on the table when they joined me in our homey breakfast nook which doubled as a dining room area. They nodded tired good mornings and joined me at the table sipping the coffee I poured them. I began tearing a pancake into tiny pieces just for something to keep my hands busy since I was too full to eat another bite. It also helped me plan how to bring up the topic, but I just kept coming back to how crowded the table seemed even with two empty spots. That must have been a manifestation of my nerves.

I think my mom figured out something was up first, but my dad picked up on the concern emanating from her almost at once. Picking at my food was typically a dead give away that something was wrong with me. They looked at each and had one of the silent conversations that partners, siblings, and best friends all seem to master after years of practice. Their conclusion appeared to be that my father would initiate the conversation with me.

'What's up? Did something happen,' he signed, eyeing me to judge my reaction. Mom scooted a little close to him, but didn't add anything.

'I imprinted yesterday at the beach,' I let them know, deciding it was best to just jump in and lay it out there. This way it would either shock them into not reacting until after I was gone or we could just get everything out of the way now. Either option had reasonably good odds that they wouldn't make it into a huge deal.

Just mentioning it increased the insistent tugging to get back to her that I felt and I was anxious to get out of there as soon as possible. You cannot fight the Laws of Gravity and each second away from her felt like an unnecessary, pointless struggle.

'That's great. Who is she,' my mom asked, unable to stop herself after the revelation sunk in. They were both a little shocked by the unexpected declaration, but that quickly past and happiness replaced their astonished expressions. I am relatively confident that they weren't expecting this to happen prior to the birth of another little girl within our group of friends. I sighed, looks like we were going to get everything out now.

'Her name is Krista. She looks around my age and lives in Forks. She is gorgeous,' I didn't mean to add the last part. I just got caught up thinking about her and my hands formed the words before my brain comprehended what they were doing. I was embarrassed so I looked down and focused on wiping my hands off and breathing in the familiar scents coming off of my parents combined with our breakfast and the house for a minute.

When I tiled my head a little to look up my mom was smiling and giggling reminding me where Mel's energy and enthusiasm came from while my dad looked happier than I had seen in quite some time. I rubbed the back of my neck and gave them a lopsided smile in return. That was the end of the conversation, they didn't push for more details and I didn't offer any.

~x~*~x~

22 June 2041

After that morning, much of the last week and a half was spent the same way and I quickly fell into a routine after the first day. My focus was centered on Krista and my activities revolved around her and hers. Everyday had been warm and sunny, a very unusual occurrence around here even in summer. She seemed to love the beach; so as a result, it was where the majority of each day was spent.

My days consisted of waking up after catching a few hours of sleep sprawled out in the tree I was rapidly starting to consider mine and jogging home to shower and make breakfast for my parents and myself. I hated this part of the day. It was the longest time I spent far away from her and it felt unbelievably wrong.

While we ate, my parents always asked how things were going, but thankfully left it alone other than that. Once or twice I offered them a new tidbit that I'd learned, such as she lived with her parents and worked mornings at their shop and that she had a little sister.

The few extra details I managed to find out, I'd kept to myself, mostly because I needed them to feel closer to her. I was trying, but it was a frustratingly slow process, hindered by my physical and social disabilities. At this point, I just did not know her very well and learning anything significant was a difficult and intricate affair. It was the most exasperating experience of my life and I was just beginning.

In the short number of days since I saw her for the first time I had really only discovered superficial things. These included that she loved the color green, because nearly all of her clothes were in various shades and her room was painted a light sage color—it took me three days to even notice, she unconsciously bit her lip when people talked to her, and that she had the barest hints of dimples, but you only saw them when she was alone with her friend because that was the only time she truly smiled. It was like I had become an extremely porous sponge made for the soul purpose of soaking up all information related to Krista, but I was stuck wading around in the shallow part of the fact pool and a rope blocked my path into the deep end.

After eating, my mornings continued by making the trek back to her house where she was usually just finishing up breakfast herself. This usually consisted of unsweetened black tea and cereal with fresh berries in it. When she was finished, I'd follow her to the little grocer shop where she worked for approximately four hours each day, give or take.

I never bothered using the car I had inherited from Solace. The sports car was too conspicuous and I preferred running anyways because her wildflower, mountain air, and coconut scent was stronger out in the open.

While she worked, I sat in the park just down the street, far enough away that she wouldn't see me, but close enough to smell her. I used this time to be alone and obsess about every little detail I knew about Krista, it was the only thing I could do. My concentration was too scattered for reading and I stopped after the first couple days when I tried using this time to strategize plausible scenarios that would allow me to get closer to her, but always ended up with my emotions in a jumble of turmoil, positive that my situation was hopeless and shaking so badly I was seconds away from phasing.

That is when I discovered something else this week. It was easier to calm the chaos in my mind and retain some form of rational thought when she was close enough to see, well at least as long as I did not even consider attempting contact with her. Then, without fail, I panicked worse than when I was away from her. I felt safe saying that if this kept up for too long, I think it might drive me insane.

Typically, when she got done with work she would head home to get ready for the beach and pick up her sister. I used this time to run home and get ready myself. Also grabbing lunch, then heading to the beach where I met up with whichever family or families I knew from our circle that were already there. The Uleys, Lynchs, and Atearas brought their kids almost everyday, a few younger couples including Jesse and Seth, Annabelle and Brady, and Maribel and Freddie, and many of the older couples stopped by every now and then when they could as well.

I brought Eli with me several times since Mark worked nine to five as a legal advisor and Jordan had classes to teach. This worked well for both of us because he could see Ava and I had a legitimate excuse for going to the beach. I'd also help watch the other kids, but usually I spent almost the entire time watching Krista.

Everyone in a hundred mile radius seemed to have similar thoughts about enjoying the good weather, knowing it wouldn't last, because they swarmed to the beach everyday. For once I didn't mind the heavy congestion and actually succeeded in using it to my advantage. It was easy to disappear on the teeming beach when I got worried about being too blatant with my staring and I had reason to be concerned.

No matter where I watched her from, I would manage to draw her attention and catch her eyes at least a dozen times each day. I wished this could give me hope that she felt the pull of the imprint too, but it was inconclusive. There was no way to be absolutely certain that she was looking at me because she felt it and was interested or if it was just a natural response to all of my initial staring. She never tried to move toward me and when our eyes connected I was constantly the first to look away.

Chloe, Ava, and now Maddox and Harley as well, seemed to become fast friends with the little blonde girl that Chloe informed me was Krista's little sister Beth. She was closest to Maddox in age, but got along with Harley and Chloe the best. You could almost envision the disaster Beth and Harley had the potential to leave in their wake as they blazed a trail through life. I knew Harley was loyal and loving, and being Krista's sister, Beth probably was too, but I feared for anyone who got in their way.

It was also through Chloe that I was told that the girl who rarely left Krista's side was her best friend Sabrina. I liked her a great deal. It didn't take long before I was able to witness how protective she is of Krista. Some guy grabbed Krista's ass and when she jerked away, Sabrina hauled off and punched the guy, busting his lip open so he had blood running down his chin. It was a great swing and it was over before I even got a chance to move.

I knew I could ask the girls for more information about Krista, but I refused to do that. It just didn't seem right, so the only things I learned from them were what they told me without prompting.

On the days I brought Eli with me, Jordan would stop by to pick him up and drop off some dinner for me which I always appreciated. He was good at letting me know he was there and loved me without words. The other break I received this week was that Freddie gave me the week off since he knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate and that I would hate the others hearing my fears. So after I finished dinner, I headed directly to Krista's place and set up shop for the night.

Sabrina stayed with her for every night except one. They usually talked for a couple hours each night and sometimes played cards. They would also spend time each doing their own thing while in the room together. I could not hear them, nor could I read their lips to understand what they said, but seeing them together made me miss Devlin. For once, the nostalgia was a little less painful.

Today was Chloe's 12th birthday and as per her request, we were having a bonfire tonight to celebrate. But before that happened, I had to drop by Taylor's and let him and Melody in on everything that happened this week. I had put it off for too long already.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	6. Confusion and Phantoms

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**First off, congratulations to yay4shanghai for winning The Sparkle Award for Best Original Character for her story The Pathetic Ramblings of a Homosexual Werewolf!**

**This is Part I of a two part chapter and Part II will be up Friday.**

**Once again, thank you everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me. I love the feedback and it's a great motivator to write faster and update sooner. **

**As always I recommend you read the other stories written in this universe. They are fantastic worth taking the time to read them…this is directed particularly towards my amazing and supportive mother, who I will be driving cross country in a few days to see and is reading this, but needs to get a move on with the other stories ;) **

**And finally, yay4shangai must be the sexiest, encouraging, incredible beta alive, so thanks! **

* * *

Confusion and Phantoms

* * *

14 June 2041

When I woke up, I felt rejuvenated, more so than I usually felt after a full night's sleep. Typically, naps left me groggier than I was before resting. I rolled sideways to check how long I'd been out for and was astonished to see the blocky green 6:08 AM shining back at me. I slept the evening and night away without meaning to and now I was up, but had well over an hour to kill before needing to leave for work. Sighing, because I knew there was no way I could spend them asleep; I was already too wide awake. I might as well get up and get started on my day.

First order of business, was finding breakfast. I rubbed my stomach, noting that I was absolutely starving since I missed dinner last night. Before leaving my warm cocoon, I arched my back, popping it, and stretched out as much as I could to loosen my slightly stiff muscles. The action resulted in my feet getting all tangled up in the extra blankets on me. Bree must have shoved them onto my side of the bed at some point during the night when she got too overheated.

I fought a loosing battle against the covers until my struggles jostled Bree enough to wake her up as well. She only looked at my imprisoned legs, and now arm, for a second before bursting into hysterical laughter and shoving me off the bed.

I landed with a jarring thud and a backlash bounce, following the initial impact that left me sprawled across my floor in an ungraceful heap surrounded by the ivory and gold quilts my mother made. Reclining back, I glared up at Sabrina's giggling head currently hanging over the side of my bed with her curly hair dangling on the way to the floor.

"That was for ignoring my call last night then waking me up so early this morning," she informed me with a ridiculous, fake stern look that did nothing to mask her amusement or conceal the occasional giggle that slipped past her pink lips.

"Well, good morning to you too then," I said dryly, rolling my eyes for added effect. My response earned me a final cheery grin, but it was fleeting and when she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed with her legs pulled underneath her it was gone. In its place was a sober expression; slightly pursed lips and a wrinkled brow that emphasized her concerned stone blue eyes.

"Are you ready to talk about what happened yesterday? You already know we will eventually, so why not just get it out now rather than letting it fester like I know you were last night and will again later?"

It all came rushing back when she brought it up and I felt like I'd been steamrolled when it crashed back to me. I sat up struggling to pull any air at all into my lungs. I pressed a hand over my heart as an ache in my chest grew, spreading throughout my body now that I was finally acknowledging its existence. It had been there for a while, a dull throb that I ignored in favor of mindless curiosity. In fact, it was there all along, ever present since I watched him run away, because it honestly felt like he took a part of me with him when he left. It was no longer a dull pain; instead, it was sharp and burning.

"He ran away," I choked out, softer than a whisper, after a few gasping breaths.

Bree was at my side in an instant, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me back for us to lean against the side of my bed. I wasn't crying; I never did. Not since it became Beth's weapon of choice for manipulating our parents and every other authority figure she needed something from.

I wasn't crying, but it hurt. It hurt to think about because I didn't understand what exactly happened or why. I was confused, but I knew that somehow I had done something to make him leave. It was ludicrous to admit, even just to myself, but I was hoping that I had just offended him by staring because the only other option I could see, was that I repulsed him. And that was the last thing I wanted. Either way, I couldn't help feeling rejected, as unreasonable as it was.

Simply accepting that it was over and I couldn't change anything, instead of beating myself up anymore and dwelling on it, was already helping restore my composure and having Bree here helped even more. Although it did nothing to eliminate my desire to understand what happened.

We remained like that for a couple minutes, but time dragged on so slowly, I would have sworn an eternity passed. My eyes followed a sparrow's path as it hopped along my window sill, but when the silence got to me I pulled my knees against my chest and rested my chin there while picking at a thread on the hem of the sundress I never changed out of yesterday. I gathered what courage I possessed, then jumped into a conversation I wasn't sure I wanted to have.

"I don't get it, why did he run?" I asked, proud of how unexpectedly steady my voice was, but not moving to see her or look away from the sparrow. I hoped her considerable experience, relative to me at least, had given her the wisdom necessary to have the answers I was seeking.

"I can't answer that, Kris…but I don't think it was for any of the reasons you're probably afraid of," she replied honestly and I could hear the compassion in her voice.

"Then why? Come on, tell me what you're thinking—please," I begged, finally turning to her, separating a single blue and a single purple lock from the rest and twisting them together. It was a habit she did when trying to figure out how to word a controversial topic she was trying to discuss.

"Well…I, I really don't think he was running to get away from you. He seemed surprised and more than a little overwhelmed, so maybe he just needed to clear his head. You do the same thing, so you should know," she nodded along to what she was saying, making sure she believed it herself.

"Maybe…," I trailed off. I didn't want to get my hopes up, in case she was wrong or I never even saw him again.

"So just to be clear, you're actually interested in him? This isn't just about him running away?" She inquired with an intent look that I could do nothing except shrug at. She focused a searching look on me and I knew her eyes were penetrating my deepest secrets as she continued in a discerning voice, "I saw the way you looked at him. You've never looked at anyone that way before…and I have _never_ seen you get this worked up over a total stranger."

"It doesn't matter if it's all one-sided," I replied hardly daring to breath and without breaking our intense eye connection, but biting my bottom lip to have actually said that much and half wishing I had just swallowed the words. This was as close as I would get to confessing how powerfully I felt an all encompassing pull, drawing me to the alluring Levi.

"I didn't just see you yesterday, I saw him too. He looked at you the same way you looked at him…like, I don't know…like it was just the two of you and the rest of us ceased to exist. I seriously doubt he even noticed me sitting right next to you," she said trying to convince me. It was starting to work. I was dangerously close to hoping she was right.

"Enough of this. I have to get something to eat and change before I'm late to work," I told her then jumped up and rushed through my morning ritual, pausing only to grab an apple and a granola bar on my way out.

Work was the same as always, restocking produce and returning things left around the store that people had changed their minds about buying. It was a Saturday so the store was busy enough that I didn't have time to sit around obsessing about Levi, which was a relief after this morning. Bree was right, a trait of hers that can be tremendously annoying at times; it felt good to talk about what happened and I'm sure I would not have been able to focus at work if I hadn't. My parents even let me go early when they saw how excited I was when I looked outside. They assumed my reaction was about it being sunny out again and I had no intention of correcting their mistake. For once my enthusiasm was not for the sun being out, but because it meant I could head to the beach now and possibly see him again.

I raced home to grab Bree and my sister, who was just as keen as me and already waiting outside on the porch so it wasn't long before we were on our way. I had worn my swimsuit to work under a pale yellow sundress so I wouldn't have to waste time changing when I got back to the house.

Have you ever heard the urban legend about your stomach exploding if you drink coke while eating pop rocks? Well I felt like that kind of chemical reaction was building up inside me the whole ride to the beach. I kept gripping the wheel too tight or gradually speeding up on the way there. Beth kept up a constant stream of chatter, as usual, from the backseat and Bree indulged her because I was too preoccupied to form a coherent response or listen in the first place.

It was already crowded when we got there and I let Beth lead us to an empty spot while I searched for him. Several times I tripped, too busy craning my neck as far as I could in every direction trying to see over and around people to pay attention to where I was stepping. When we arrived at a spot very close to where we had been the day before, I still hadn't spotted him. I was certain I would have noticed him by now if he were here. He stands out too much not to.

Waves of disappointment washed over me and I tried to resign myself to the possibility of never seeing him again when I felt it. I have no idea how to describe what I felt, but as if a voice were telling me to, I looked towards the trees where I saw him disappear yesterday and there he was—staring directly at me.

He was even more striking than I remembered. His black air was tousled and wind-blown, his expression unreadable at this distance. He stood with his shoulders hunched down slightly like there was a great weight on them. He was barefoot and his shirt and shorts were both black; it made him seem illusive, like a phantom.

My heart speed up, faster than would be considered healthy, and I was frozen. I hadn't put any of my stuff down yet so I must look like an idiot standing there like that. The blood rushed to my head making me fell faint and my cheeks burn; I understood that it was because I had forgotten to keep breathing, but before I could try to do anything, he vanished. I gasped at the suddenness.

"Still think he wasn't interested?" Sabrina's amused voice asked from beside me.

"He left again didn't he? And what makes you think he was looking at me and not someone next to us?" I questioned back uncertainly as I chewed my lip in worry. I didn't turn away, in case he returned. It was just too unfathomable that he experienced the same reaction I did when our eyes locked.

"Really, Kris? Believe what you want, but we'll see," was all she said using her most skeptical voice, but it was enough to break my trance.

Accepting that he was not coming back, I turned away and avoided Bree's look as I got settled in for the day by laying out my towel and stripping down to my suit. I took a mental note that Beth had located her new friends from yesterday and was sitting near the water animatedly talking to them. I didn't fight myself over it this time; any attempt would be hollow considering I still had chills. Instead, I freely admitted that I was already wishing he would show up again, because that look hadn't lasted long enough.

~x~*~x~

22 June 2041

This last week or so had been one of the most exhilarating in my life. Everything had changed since I first saw Levi. Well ok, not everything, in fact one of the only things to really change was that the number of times I nearly fainted each day skyrocketed. Another thing was that I had never quite looked forward to visiting the beach as much as I did lately and it had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with seeing him.

I didn't know what to think or if I was reading too much into recent events that actually weren't even worth the disappointment I would feel after trying to figure things out.

Our eyes met four more times the Saturday before last at the beach and each time shocked my nerves into a frenzy and left them humming for a good while after. I measured time by how much past between looks, while the anticipation built until it was nearly unbearable. Then I would feel and easily find his gaze locked on me. I didn't get the chance to take in anything else about him, just his eyes.

It was odd, as out of control as my mind was when I left the beach that day, I slept just as well as I had the night before. Originally, I had not expected to get any sleep, but instead I was out cold the moment I laid down and can't remember ever waking up feeling that refreshed and revitalized before. In fact, I've managed a repeat performance every night since. The combination of extreme emotional spikes and all the extra sun must be wearing me out, no other plausible explanation occurred to me.

Everyday after that was the same too. Get up, work, pick up Sabrina and Beth then drive to the beach where my day really began. Nothing before I saw him for the first time each day registered. I went through the motions because it was necessary, but I came to life when I saw him. And like any good drug, once I got my fix, the high lasted for hours. It was enough to get me through the evening like a semi-sane person.

I went over those thoughts as I pulled into the parking lot at the beach and I was just climbing out of my car when I felt a tingling dance along my spine; my eyes sought him out immediately. He was already staring at me with a look so intense I felt sure he could see inside my mind and knew exactly how many times and what I had thought in regards to him during our time apart. And just like every time before, I was frozen in place with his eyes paralyzing me and then he was gone.

He didn't run anymore, just fluidly melted into the people zipping around. As if he had never been there in the first place. And like everyday, it happened several more times as the afternoon wore on and the sun traveled across the sky. Today it happened six more times, but he never stayed for longer than a minute once our eyes met.

I felt the irritating sensation of being stared at more often than not, but now I spent an enormous portion of my concentration determined to not search for the source. I know it's him, but he always disappears again moments after I discover him and I like it better when I know he is watching so I avoid looking as long as possible. The first couple of days I looked for him the second I felt it every time, but now my only slip-up is when I first get to the beach because I can't help needing to see him right away.

He never makes an effort to come closer than how far apart we were the first day, keeping the distance separating us at about ten meters. This confuses me more than anything else. I wanted him to make the first move more than anything, but I was reluctantly grateful he didn't because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if he did. I would, sort of already am, as Bree constantly predicts, 'wimp out.'

I probably should have been a little freaked out or thought he was being creepy. Instead, I found it stimulating and him endearing. He made me feel strangely safe and protected as opposed to hunted and trapped, the way I'm positive any other guy doing this would make me feel.

At night, once I came down and the buzz wore off, the need to understand what was happening kicked in again. It hadn't eased up, just grew more instead and I was no closer to unearthing any miraculous revelations that would answer my questions than I had been at the beginning of all this. I was obsessing and my brain was working overtime. Half of me, the rational realistic half, listed and painstakingly explained all possible reasons he could have for staring at me. The other half, the childish girly half, created elaborate tales of romance, intrigue, and fate spun from my deepest most private desires. These whimsical thoughts had us destined to become lovers, sure he was sent to sweep me off my feet and take me away to embark on wild adventures the likes of which were only found in fantasies.

I didn't dare let myself believe or even wish that this would somehow end with me getting the prince and riding off into the sunset. That just didn't happen in real life and guys like him ended up with supermodels, like the women he gravitated towards during the rare times I stared at him when he wasn't already looking at me. They were phenomenal, so what chance did I have?

Sabrina was the only thing stopping me from going to see a doctor, confident that the entire episode was no more than an elaborate hallucination. She was so attuned to my moods, that she was able to catch a good portion of our intense confrontations. If she hadn't seen them happening as well, then I would have been sure he couldn't possibly be real, at least not with me involved, but she did.

Bree was blown away by what was transpiring. We spent hours each night analyzing and breaking down everything that happened in a vain attempt to understand what Levi's motivations were; she swore I was being stubborn when I wouldn't believe her ideas. It was the most frivolous and girly endeavor we had ever partaken of. It was even sort of fun when I pushed my own involvement aside and looked at things from an outsiders perspective.

We left the beach early today. It was only about three in the afternoon, but Beth wanted plenty of time to get ready. She was attending a party back here tonight starting just after sunset. One of her new friends had invited her and she was thrilled about going. Beth, her two new friends, and another couple girls that they were already friends with had quickly become attached at the hip. From what she'd mentioned during dinner the other night, they were two sets of sisters that lived here on the La Push reservation, and today was one of their birthdays.

The birthday girl's name was Chloe. She was young, but already growing into her exotic beauty that Beth said she inherited from her mother who, as she put it 'was some crazy ethnic combination that resulted in the kind of glamorous looks people paid fortunes trying to imitate.' She was really sweet the one time I talked to her, when she begged me to let Beth come to her party since our parents had said she could only go if I drove her and picked her back up after.

I truly had no problem taking Beth. There was nothing else I had to do tonight and Beth had been great lately, not arguing with me at the beach when I told her it was time to go, making lunch for me when I worked late last Wednesday, and for the first time ever since her feet became the same size as mine, remembered to ask before borrowing my shoes. Taking her also created the enticing possibility that Levi would be there and I would have an opportunity to see him again.

We weren't even home yet and I was anticipating seeing him again. It was insane how much I craved him and how addicting the very sight of him was.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	7. Meddlesome Sisters

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed, you guys make my day—honest! **

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs, links are in my favorites on my profile. They are fantastic worth taking the time to read. **

**One last thing, I have a Christmas present planned for everyone that has fallen in love with a different couple in this universe…not saying anything else, presents **_**are**_** supposed to be a surprise after all ;)**

**Umm, yea in case anyone's forgotten…yay4shangai is basically the shit. Thanks for being such an amazing beta. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

Meddlesome Sisters

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22 June 2041

When we got home, I grabbed a couple oranges for Bree and me to snack on and followed her upstairs. Beth and I share a bathroom, so we had to wait for her to finish showering since she immediately raced in there when we arrived. We decided to wait in the hallway, so we could tease Beth into hurrying up while we ate and somehow I also ended up letting Bree talk me into going out to eat later tonight.

After showering, I felt absurd when I realized how much effort I was putting in to get ready. I knew it was unlikely that I'd see Levi, but I still wanted to look nice, just in case. I almost always wear casual dresses or skirts, so it wasn't unusual that I picked an olive green slightly fitted knit dress for tonight. The part that was different and I felt more than a little ridiculous about was that I added a little make-up and pulled part of my hair back in a brass clip leaving a few wavy strands loose around my face.

Bree didn't say a word about it; although I'm sure she wanted to. She, of course, was wearing her typical summer apparel—solid white tank top, thrift store vest, frayed denim cut-off shorts, and flip flops.

She and I were both ready before Beth, despite starting after her. We waited for her in the kitchen and Bree told me about a job interview she had coming up in a few days as a rafting guide. It sounded awesome, but they very rarely hired anyone under 18 so she thought it might be a waste of time to even bother going. Before I could ask Bree anymore about the job, Beth showed up, demanding to leave right then so she wasn't just plain late instead of the fashionably late she planned on being.

She looked sexy, but definitely nothing like the barely thirteen year old girl she was. Her hair was done in elaborate twists pinned up so parts were spiky and her make-up, while excessive for a beach party at night, looked great. The issue I had, mostly because I'd hear about it from our parents later was the outfit. She had her red glittery two piece swimsuit on with super short black shorts, a leather biker jacket, and combat boots. She wasn't happy when I made her put on a tank top over the suit and leave the jacket, but stopped arguing once I pointed out that it'd get ruined at the beach anyways.

Beth told us more about Chloe's mom, Tara, on the way there, no longer pissed about the clothes issue. About how she was a famous dancer and had her pick of companies to dance for before she retired. She sounded in awe of the woman and I'm sure that meant progress was being made on the parent front to join Tara's class in spite of quitting after a few lessons twice before.

When we pulled into the First Beach parking lot I was stunned. There were at least as many people here as there had been earlier today and it was too dark to really see who was who so feeling defeated, I gave up my plans of catching a glimpse of Levi.

"I thought you said it was just Chloe's friends and family that were going to be here tonight," I remarked to Beth, turning the car off and looking over my shoulder to see her.

"These are all friends or family. Kris…I love you, but not everyone is as antisocial as you—no offense. See you later!" She was out of the car before the words were completely out and called the last bit back to me as the door slammed shut and Bree hissed at her. The crowd swallowed her up before I processed what she said. She didn't mean anything by it, but it stung and mostly because she was right. It shouldn't matter though, because I did not need or want more; I loved my life, well there was one more person I wanted in it, but that didn't count.

"What time are we supposed to pick her up at again?" Sabrina's question brought me back to the present and I looked over at her realizing I didn't have an answer.

"Damn. I forgot to remind her to call and find out earlier," I confessed, frustrated at myself for forgetting.

"Well let's just ask when this gets over at. Someone out there has to know." She undid her seatbelt and reached for the door, I groaned at the thought of going out there and dropped my head against the steering wheel. It was a reasonable solution, but one I wanted no part of. Walking into a party I wasn't invited to made me feel like a stalker and just a little too desperate. When I didn't move she added, "Oh come on, the sooner we ask the sooner we can leave. I'll even do the talking, but you have to come with."

I shot her a disgruntled look that only served to make her laugh before following her out of the car. Walking onto the beach, I stayed a step behind her as she headed to the nearest person and furtively glanced around. There were a couple fires going and their light illuminated the area making it easier to see individual faces.

It was loud. Music was playing from somewhere, people were talking and laughing, and some of the kids were yelling. The yelling was mostly from the ones running around by the water splashing each other. From what I could see, a few even looked familiar from my recent trips to the beach, but I didn't see Beth among them. She was probably off having fun somewhere else; I hope she's not doing anything too reckless. It was reassuring to see one or two older guys down there with them taking care of things.

Several small groups of women, all remarkably beautiful, were standing around one of the fires. A couple of them were holding young children and one was cradling a baby in her arms. They looked like they were having fun chatting and mingling with each other and they all seemed to be good friends, odd because their ages varied from teenager to probably late forties, early fifties.

Near the parking lot I saw several tables set up with more food than even this many people could ever hope to finish and I wondered why they would waste so much. A few guys that looked too enormous and muscled to be real were standing there loading food onto paper plates until they looked like they would collapse under the weight of it. Judging by the size of them, it was easy to re-evaluate my opinion and decide that maybe they really could polish off that food. Another table, set a little apart from the others, was piled high with colorfully wrapped presents decorated with shiny bows.

Five or six folding chairs were set up at the other driftwood fire. Most were filled with still more guys that looked too big to exist and there were more of them standing around, what was up with that anyways? Practically every guy here, and there was quite a few of them, was huge, fit beyond belief, and drop dead gorgeous. A good number of them had their shirts off, not out of the ordinary for the beach, but I had never seen so many perfectly sculpted abs in one place before. It was enough to make my head spin. How was it possible for me not to ever notice this before?

I grew up in Forks came to the beach all the time as a child, but I must not have paid attention to them then. I didn't make it to the beach more than a handful of times the past three summers; because I was watching Beth and we didn't have a ride since my parents were working. My parents also hadn't wanted us going without one of them when Beth and I were younger in case something happened. Instead, I had to make due with my backyard or Nikki's pool occasionally, but when I was here I really should have noticed the shear size of these guys.

My attention drifted to the last chair because this one was occupied by a younger couple. They were as stunning as the rest of the people here, a little more exotic even, but what really grabbed me was the way they were looking at each other. No words were said, but I still felt embarrassed for witnessing such an intimate moment and possibly a little jealous.

My invasive survey was interrupted when I crashed into Bree's back causing us both to stumble a few steps when she came to a halt several feet away from the guy we were headed for. I wondered why she paused until I noted the surprised look on her face and traced it back to our intended target and found he had turned his head towards us and she was transfixed by how incredibly hot he was. She recovered quickly, but still didn't move. It was too late to walk away without drawing even more attention to us, so I nudged her forward, but fell back a little farther myself…she was the one with the bright idea to go ask someone after all.

As covertly as possible, I assessed him. It was quite a challenge when I was trying to hide behind someone that was five foot nothing tall, but I managed. He only looked a few years older than us, but it was hard to tell, early twenties maybe. His indescribably sexy plump pink lips were stretched in a friendly smile that made it easier to take the last step towards him, though I doubted I retained the power of speech. Not with those long lashed eyes fixed on me. Something about his expression even helped me relax more than normal at the idea of talking to such an imposing stranger, despite how intimidating his height and muscles should be this close up. My calm state didn't last once Bree opened her mouth and was her usual brash and direct self.

"Are you from here?" She asked incredulously. He chuckled, nodding a little with a slightly confused look. It was kind of an obvious answer.

"Umm…yea, why?" He added, but Bree had turned to look at me.

"Remind me again why we never hung out around here more often? The guys here are smokin'!" I saw it coming, but was still mortified that she said that in front of him. Closing my eyes to avoid seeing the completely blank expression he was staring at us with, it was at least two seconds later when they were startled open again when he burst into laughter. I watched on miserably as he laughed so hard he doubled over at the middle holding his stomach.

I turned away feeling heat radiating from my cheeks knowing they had to be on fire right now and felt them get even hotter when I noticed we had drawn several pairs of eyes from the party-goers. Then, a movement in the corner of my eye drew my gaze towards it and I stopped caring about anything else for a moment.

Levi was here, watching me from the other side of the closer fire and now I was staring directly at him. He was farther away than normal, but I could see him better than ever as light flickered across his face highlighting every emotion that passed over it. Not that there were many to see, just an intensity I had grown accustomed to associating with him. It seemed like I was moving, like I had been floating away without realizing it, but he pulled back to Earth and it happened without either of us budging an inch.

It was over too soon when a gust of wind flew past making me blink and regretfully turn towards it. Immediately, I discovered that the wind was actually caused by a girl pouncing on the back of the guy we were standing next to. She playfully nipped his neck and growled making him smile wider. She flashed us a charming smile before reaching up to kiss his jaw. They were adorable, but I'd rather see Levi.

I turned back in that direction, but he wasn't looking over here anymore. Now his back was to us and he was standing with his head dropped forward, a hand on his neck, and his shoulders hunched over. I felt like my heart was being crushed to see him look so downtrodden, emphasized by the all black attire I kept seeing him in.

"He's pretty cute isn't he? I think he has the whole brooding and mysterious thing going for him, really working the loner angle…drives a girl crazy," she said to me and I looked towards her head resting on the guy's shoulder to see she was scrunching her nose like that was a funny thing to say before continuing, "sorry, couldn't help noticing you staring at him."

"Oh god…di—did anyone else see? Ahhh! I'm sorry—you must think I'm so rude or pathetic," jumping off the guy, she waved a hand interrupting my panicked babbling before it got any worse. Bree steeped closer to me and between the two of them I felt relieved a little, until I heard what she said next.

"So you like him then?" She asked and I swear her eyes were drilling holes in my head the look was so intent. She wasn't cute and cheerful anymore. She seemed dangerous suddenly and I was forced to suppress the urge to run. As it was, I felt all the color drain from my face and I had to remind myself to breath. Was I really that obvious?

The guy wrapped his arm around her then and I thought I heard him say, "Mel, you promised…not even an hour ago," but it was whispered so quietly and she didn't respond I assumed I must have imagined it.

"Yea, she's into him. They've been sending each other mega-deep vibes for over a week now, so what's it to you," Bree jump in defending me and I wanted to strangle her for it.

"Bree! Shut up and please, please stop it," I hissed at her and squeezed her arm, but she just stood her ground, arms crossed, icy blue eyes glaring fire at the newcomer waiting for an answer and ignoring me. It confounded me when this reaction made the girl start giggling and bouncing on the balls of her feet sending her almost shoulder length sleek black hair swinging around and making the guy chuckle some more when she looked up at him.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I…I'm Melody—his sister. Levi's that is," she told us with an absolutely delighted look in her eyes and nodded towards where he was standing, his back facing us. Almost as an afterthought she added, "oh, and this is Taylor." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment.

The change in her attitude from a minute ago was astonishing. She was beaming at me now; it was engaging and very welcoming. I was just about cowering before and now I felt as comfortable with her as I did with Bree. It was eerie how quickly and completely at ease she made me feel.

"Hi, I'm Krista and this is Sabrina," I told them shyly. Bree just continued to eye them wearily and not move an inch from my side.

"So, are you guys here for the party?" Taylor inquired trying to clear any remaining awkward tension.

"Umm…no. Actually, we were just dropping my sister off, but needed to find out what time to pick her up later," I let them know and looked back towards Levi. There were two other guys with him now, both wearing white wife-beaters and I recognize one as being from the group of people with Levi that first day on the beach. I watched the hand gestures, curious how they could mean anything when they moved that fast.

"Yea, Levi's deaf," Melody said regaining my attention; she'd caught me staring again and I winced, blushing even more. Then the words sink in. Oh. What else was there to say? I felt oddly numb. She was watching my reaction again. She waited a minute, then added, "sign language isn't that hard to learn. I could teach you if you wanted some help with it."

She looked so hopeful and perhaps a little expectant, but I wasn't sure I wanted to learn. Talking with my hands would just draw more attention and I'm not sure that was something I wished to endure. I swear I heard Taylor say something again that sounded like, "Melody, you're pushing it," but I never saw his lips move and again she didn't react.

"I don't know…maybe," was all I ended up saying, but another glance in his direction showed that he was watching again. His face was completely closed off, but I felt the swell of emotions that always came when we made eye contact and I knew I had to think about reconsidering. I was torn and my thoughts were too jumbled to straighten out right now.

"We should head out Kris, get some dinner before we run out of time," Bree spoke up then and I nodded agreeing. She already looked like she was warming up to Melody, but I could tell she was saving me before something else happened. I had enough new things to think about as it was.

"The party ends in about two hours, but you should stay. We have plenty of food," Melody encouraged sweetly with an almost pleading expression. It was hard to say no to a look like that, but I didn't want to meet anyone else right now and I needed to be alone to process my thoughts so I just shook my head.

She looked worried and glanced up at Taylor, but he just rolled his eyes and looked away, shaking his head a bit. She looked back and I waited for her to say more, having no idea myself what to say now, but not wanting to leave things like this. I knew the second she came up with something; the smile that came with it made her whole face shine.

"Well the two of you have to come to our Fourth of July bonfire then. We have it every year and its amazing…please say you'll come."

"We'll be there," Bree answered before I could say anything. I just gazed at her dumbfounded and mechanically said goodbye to Melody and Taylor when she dragged me towards the car so we could get out of there.

"Tomorrow," Bree said significantly with a weighted look when we got in the car. It was the only thing she said the rest of the night and I would be eternally obliged to her for that; it might even be enough to stop me from killing her for agreeing to the Fourth like that. I was so out of it that I missed out on catching one last look at him before leaving. I didn't realize it until it was too late and I couldn't find him when we picked up Beth either.

Later that night, on the way home, Melody's words kept replaying over and over again in my head. I wasn't sure what to make of them or of the whole situation. It certainly seemed like she was encouraging me to pursue her brother, but I didn't get it. She knew nothing about me at all, so how could she possibly know if we were right for each other or not?

And why didn't he come over? If he actually did want to talk to me or even come near me, then he just wasted a perfect opportunity where he could have used his sister as an excuse. Sighing, I dragged a hand through my hair to get it out of my face and leaned back against the headrest waiting for the light to change. Using the quiet to think, grateful that Beth was asleep in the backseat and Bree was reading whichever current book she carried around with her.

Not that we could talk, not without a middleman and that was too awkward to imagine, let alone consider. So, how was I supposed to talk to him? I didn't know _what_ to say before and now I have to worry about _how_ to talk to him. This just kept getting more complicated, but just thinking about him…not that I ever don't anymore, makes it difficult to not be confident that he is worth a few challenges.

I was unequivocally certain that it was impossible for me to make the first move, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to be prepared if he ever made one. I chewed my lip as I continued debating with myself over this and somewhere between the beach and my driveway my evil, glutton for punishment, side won. That meant I had plans to get up early tomorrow morning and drive to the shop in Port Angeles so I could pick up a book on learning sign language.

Even if I never got the chance to talk to him, it might turn out to be a useful skill to have someday and for now, maybe act as an engrossing hobby to distract me from going round in circles in my mind.

And now I also had to worry about getting out of the Fourth of July bonfire.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	8. Advice and Should Have Been

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed, I love you guys! **

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic worth taking the time to read. **

**On a different note, I watched the Transformers sequel tonight and for those of you that don't know, the girl that Krista's image comes from is in it. I don't think I caught anything that was going on in the film because the whole time I just kept thinking, damn…if Krista really were like that, she would eat Levi alive! I swear, his reaction would rival preteen Randy's when he saw Soli at the Halloween party dressed as a cat.**

**Anyways, thanks yay4shangai for being so fabulously fashionable and basically the best beta ever! **

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Advice and Should Have Been

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22 June 2041

One foot. That's all the farther I got. I had one foot on the driveway, the other still in the street, when the front door crashed open and I was faced with my furious sister. She was a sight to behold. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides, below the shorts I assumed she inherited from Soli, and her eyes flayed me where I stood frozen. All communication between my brain and lower limbs ceased. Electricity seemed to crackle around her. The sun was just beginning to set and the intense purples and pinks only served to enhance the impression.

"What the hell?! Where have you been?" She was screaming as she signed, stomping the full length of the driveway to meet me when I didn't approach her position in the doorway fast enough.

I cringed seeing that she was shouting; she only ever directed a yell my way when she was worried or too excited not to. Somehow, be it the questions or her appearance, I doubted it was the second option. It didn't matter that I could not hear the volume she used, it was the fact that she used it. I really hadn't meant to worry her. I just didn't want to take time away from watching Krista or have to answer the questions Melody was sure to ask.

She was directly in front of me now and the air around her really did seem to sizzle. Standing this close I could see that her expression wasn't anger, but fear. Her eyes were too rounded and her mouth too shaped like a frown to express rage. I leaned away slightly furrowing my brow further when she took a deep breath; apparently, she wasn't through hollering at me yet.

"Well? It's been over a week since I've seen you. What have you been doing?" She jabbed me in the chest twice when she was done, hard. Then, before I could react, started right back in again, 'I stopped by the house for dinner three different times and you weren't there. I've been worried sick.' She was calmer now, only signing the last part, but taking very deliberate measured breaths. Her stance was still close enough that I felt each exhale of warm air wash over my face. My eyes didn't leave her hands, waiting for more, but none came—my turn then.

'I've been around,' I signed evasively, not quite ready to tell her. I looked up in time to see her eyes flare; she didn't like that answer. I didn't have to wait long to find out why.

'That more than dad would tell me when I asked and mom wouldn't say a word about it—I'm not buying it. I want some answers,' putting her hands on her hips after she was done and tapping her foot pointedly.

She still looked a little scared and I knew how much she hated to show any fear. We both clung to the other more since loosing Devlin and often jumped to the worst conclusions imaginable that only the physical presence of the other could reassure. It made me feel horrible that I had let my activities and insecurities prevent me from visiting Melody sooner and as a result caused the fear she had endured, but I still didn't want to have this discussion outside.

'Inside…please,' I signed to her with a pleading look. She looked me over before nodding, then without preamble turned and marched back into Taylor's house.

I followed her into his brightly lit family room and took a seat in one of the matching overstuffed chairs across from the couch where Mel stiffly sat down next to Taylor. He immediately began rubbing soothing circles on her back and gave me a small smile and nod hello which I returned. Melody just watched me, waiting. Her expression was blank, but I could sense relief and anxiety warring within her, just below the surface. Massaging the back of my neck, here goes nothing, I thought before exhaling a heavy sigh.

'I imprinted.' The direct approach worked with our parents, so I figured it was my best bet with her too. Tay's smile was instantaneous, but Mel just sat there assessing me for a minute.

'What's wrong? What happened?' She finally signed looking concerned. This reaction shocked me entirely.

I shouldn't have been so surprised. I was expecting her to be angry I hadn't told her right away, to feel betrayed. I was anticipating excitement, perhaps followed by an inquisition. I was imagining how painful it was going to be telling her how scared I was and crushing her enthusiasm because there was nothing to be happy about and might never be. That was how I assumed this conversation would go, but I shouldn't have.

Sometimes I forgot just how well Melody knew me. I just recalled that a minute ago when I realized I had scared her, but somehow I didn't remember it when I envisioned this moment. How protective she was, and as a result, how she always put my feelings above her own. She always had, but since Devlin died I doubted there was anything I could do that would make her angrier _at_ me than be worried _about_ me. And she always seemed to be able to read my mind, like now for instance.

'Did you think I would be angry at you for not telling me right away like I told you?' She signed trying to lighten things up after realizing I could not get into the real problem just yet. Taylor reclined back to let us have this time and enjoy the show. Mel leaned somewhat towards me then crossed her legs before daintily folding her hands in her lap trying, and failing, to look innocent and inquisitive.

'Excuse me? I'm not sure it happened that way,' I signed back with a raised brow and slightly inclined head. Mel waved my words away like they had left a foul odor in the air between us.

'I don't know what you're talking about, of course it did,' she signed back adapting an expression of mixed confusion and righteousness that actually managed to hid her grin—for about five whole seconds.

'As I recall, it was Devlin that told me—you were too busy kissing and staring at Taylor,' signed back making both occupants of the couch blush and smile widely at the very accurate account.

I might have been the oldest and first triplet to phase that night, but I had the hardest time phasing back afterwards. It had been overwhelming to suddenly hear other's voices in my head and confusing to try and make sense of the words right away. So while I was trying to adjust, Dev managed to phase back followed shortly by Mel. Taylor was there instantly to take care of her.

Devlin refused to leave me, but watched as Tay carried Mel away from the annual New Year's party at the Uley house planning to take her home. It was just before sunrise at this point and they did not get very far before it happened. From his position in the yard, Dev saw the whole thing and raced back to my side recounting it for me.

Unlike most brothers were after an imprint involving their sister, we were as thrilled as we could be while dealing with the aches and pains that came with the initial transformation. We had grown up seeing firsthand how devoted Taylor was and how much he loved Melody and this made her happy so we were ok with it. She was dealing with enough other physical changes that we didn't want to make things harder for her by being the overprotective older brothers. It did get harder to keep that up after sharing a mind with them the first time, being so disgustingly lovey dovey and all.

I came crashing back to the present in Taylor's living room when Mel suddenly understood and questioned, 'And you haven't been. That's the problem isn't it?'

'I haven't even met her yet,' I confessed, watching my hands as I signed instead of who I was addressing. I was too ashamed to look up right away, but when I did, they were looking at each other, conversing in their private language with looks in lieu of words. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and they looked back at me when they noticed my movement.

'Have you tried,' Tay slowly, and perhaps a little timidly, inquired.

'I can't. I don't think she knows sign language,' I signed letting them know with a wince. I had prepared myself for that question, but I hated it all the same. I felt more pathetic by the second. I was a failure. Fate was having a joke at my expense, because no other wolf had the problem where it wasn't even possible to talk to their imprint.

'Are you going to try so you know for sure?' I had prepared myself for his follow up question as well. No, of course not. I am currently beating myself up because I plan on spending the rest of my days pining away for the one person a mystical wolfie force has determined I'll ever be able to love on the off chance she does know how to sign… but I was too chicken shit to find out. I was already so frustrated with myself about everything that, that was the sarcastic retort I had to clench my fists, until I felt the biting sting of my nails digging into my palms, in order to prevent forming. I suppose my expression or posture said it for me because Tay held his hands up in mock defense before him then signed, 'sorry—just checking.'

Mel must have been thinking along the same line as me because she rolled her eyes and pushed Tay back into the sofa cushions again then came back with, 'so what's your game plan?'

'I don't know…I, well I…,' there were so many ways I wanted to end that sentence, so many possibilities and I didn't seem to be capable of revealing a single one. Instead, I dropped my face into hands with my elbows propped on my thighs. Why couldn't things just be easy for once? I'm not sure how much time past, but I doubt it was even a minute before I felt Melody pry my hands away so I could see her kneeling on the rug in the space between me and the coffee table.

'Levi…talk to me. Please tell me what you're thinking—what's really worrying you,' she signed, her eyes imploring me to confide in her. She and Taylor were the only two I felt comfortable spilling my guts to like this, so taking a few deep breaths of her reassuring summer sun scent, I went for it.

'I don't even know where to start…I want to know her, I want her to know me, but how? I can just imagine how disturbing that would be for her—some random guy making crude hand gestures in her face…she wouldn't even get it. Any attempt to communicate would just get too frustrating and things won't work out…then what?

'And no, no translator. That's the worst. What's that going to make her think? Hi, I want you to fall in love with me, but I still need help talking. Can you tell her I want to try a relationship between the three of us? Yep…that's right. I can't even tell you myself that I'm interested. That is just so completely awkward. You know I don't do small talk…and she's shy, so what—we just stand there? I already know her well enough to know she won't like that—it'll embarrass her too much.

'Oh god…what if she did actually go for it—just out of pity? How could I know she didn't just feel sorry for me? Pathetic me that just stands there, no clue what to say…watching her getting to know one of you guys? That would be torture…like staring at a glass of water when you're dying of thirst…

'How can you actually get to know someone like that anyways? There is always a middle man that way—things could get lost or mixed up…then it's ruined. Nothing would be private or intimate. You'd be telling a secret that someone is listening in on…how can you form a bond like that? It's…it's like having a chaperone. Why would she want that…when she could so easily have something normal?' It was a jumbled mess, like word vomit, full of incomplete thoughts and fragmented sentences that hopped around. The worst part was I knew there was more, but I was panting as if I had actually just verbalized all of that and I was too drained to continue.

I'm not sure if they caught it all or not, I just had to release it and they let me. Actually, it was highly unlikely that they did catch it all, even with heightened senses, but I know they got the gist of it.

I watched Taylor and Melody as they processed what I just revealed, positive it would take a minute for them to sort through all of it. At first I was worried I would regret sharing that, but I ended up being so grateful when neither of them looked at me with pity or even sympathy, they merely looked thoughtful. I was certain they were trying to configure an alternative solution to having a translator and I loved them so much for it.

I did acknowledge one other thing, sort of irrelevant at this point, but even with all that and how complicated it was making things, I didn't resent being deaf, nor did I wish I wasn't. I wished for an easy solution, but not to be able to hear, I never had and never would and that was okay with me.

Melody's waving hand brought my attention back to her, then signed, 'so I know…I mean, I doubt you'll want to, but what about just telling her then letting her choose? You know, seeing if she wants to try a translator or wants to learn sign language?' She finally concluded looking very unsure of my reaction, but hopeful nonetheless.

'What if she doesn't think I'm worth the effort?' I didn't pause to think before asking, just let my hand form the words and shared the question that I recognized as a central basis for my fears and as the root of my earlier meltdown.

'She won't think that.' Mel looked so confident when she signed that and Tay nodded in agreement. When I looked back to Mel, she seemed hesitant, so I raised a brow at her in question making her sigh before delving into her response, 'I get why you feel that way and why you're worried, I do…but are you sure this isn't really about anything else?'

'No, why?'

'Because…are you sure this has nothing to do with Dev?' Mel asked and I was caught off guard by the question. Did it? I hadn't really thought of it like that before, but I guess on some unconscious reasoning plane it did. On a very fundamental level, accepting someone's help to communicate felt like the equivalent of betraying his memory, as if I would be disappointing him by doing that.

'Maybe a little,' I shrugged and didn't elaborate.

'He wouldn't want you to feel that way, but I understand.' And I knew she did. We all just sat there lost in our individual musings for a spell.

It was more than a little if I was honest with myself. And for so many more reasons than the one that surfaced immediately; I knew the majority didn't make sense, but that knowledge didn't help avert the feelings. It should be him I'm having this talk with, it was supposed to be, and it would have been. He should have been here to see her and give me advice. He should have gotten the chance to imprint and figure things out then fall in love.

If he were here he would have been the first to offer to translate, ironic since he wouldn't for any pack members, but this is different. He also would have been secretly teaching her sign language and spending the time building me up until he had her convinced I was perfect or something equally ridiculous like that. I bet he also would have been dating her friend, just so we still hung out all the time. It should have been him for a lot of things, it was supposed to be, but life's full of what might have beens.

'Well what about writing her a letter?' Taylor questioned, this time to get us past the lingering sadness caused by the previous topic.

I couldn't do that though, not yet. She didn't even know who I was and again doing something like that might scare her. Besides, what would I even write?

'Or maybe I could—,' Melody started to sign, but I cut her off already shaking my head.

'I don't want to freak her out, so promise you won't interfere—please Mel?' I pleaded, honestly hoping she would listen to me about this. She was avoiding eye contact so I knew she didn't plan on it. I stared her down and eventually snared her gaze, giving her a look that promised dire consequences if she disregarded my wishes. She huffed and fell back against Taylor pouting a little.

'Ok, I won't,' extracting that vague promise was like pulling teeth. I knew she just wanted to help, but this was something I needed to do on my own.

It was pointless to continue dwelling on this further now anyways. It was too soon, I needed time to get things sorted out a little more first. I might only get one shot, so I needed to get it right.

It was already dark when we left the house to walk down to the beach for Chloe's birthday party. Tay went on a little ahead of us so Mel and I could talk privately some more. It was nice. I really missed having her around all the time and didn't realize how much I needed to tell her about everything, how much I needed to unload some of this on the person I was closest to in world. Now that the bad parts were out of the way, I was excited that I could share some of the good parts with her too.

We walked slow, immersed in our conversation and fell farther behind, but that was ok. Melody prompted me to tell her about Krista and because it was Mel, I found myself describing her appearance in detail; everything from her long wavy sun-lightened hair to her shy smile that just barely exposed her teeth and suggested she had dimples. I told her about Krista's sun-kissed golden tan and willowy build that had just enough curves that I couldn't help thinking about her… like that. She watched my hands intently, not missing a single word and smiling at each new one I formed, never interrupting.

When I stopped, she looked up and I could see her affection and elation for me in her eyes and her smile was stretched as far as it could go. She encouraged me to tell her more so I didn't hesitate to tell her about how she periodically checks on her little sister when they're at the beach and how she spends most of her time with her best friend who she helped recolor her blue highlights last night. Then I told her about the staring and how she always seemed to know and how indescribable it felt to lock eyes.

Just talking about her was whipping up my anticipation to see her again. We cut through the trees to get there, maneuvering a direct path there by hopping over roots and ducking under branches instead of walking around and through the parking lot. I signed the whole way and when we got there I shooed her off, telling her that she was free to go find Taylor now.

'Come with me. We don't get to hang out enough anymore,' she signed, urging me to follow her.

I didn't respond because it was then that I noticed it wasn't remembering her scent that had me smelling it, because I was feeling the pull stronger than I should have right then; she was here. I looked across the fire, towards the parking lot and saw her. Seconds later her eyes snapped to mine. I drank in the sight of her, loving how big her eyes looked tonight and the way that dress outlined her curves. She was mesmerizing.

I didn't even notice when Mel left; not until Krista looked away. Then I saw who she was standing next to—Taylor…and now Melody. Unbelievable, I couldn't believe my luck. Karma and I were officially not friends. I turned away feeling completely defeated. Well, so much for that promise.

I took a few deep breaths to stay calm and caught a thoroughly intermingled frosty and musky scent that had a little ginger thrown in to spice things up stronger than any other scent—my uncles. I looked up to see Mark and Jordan approaching. Jordan was looking past my shoulder in a very calculating manner, but Mark was focused on me with a friendly smile.

'What are you doing over here alone instead of with your sister and Taylor?' Mark asked with a quick glance at where I knew Krista was. Real subtle Mark. I glared at him for asking. He laughed and came back with, 'well this would be a great opportunity to meet her.'

Jordan was focused on me now as well, evaluating my reaction. He gave me a long searching look and I resisted fidgeting. When Jordan reached into his back pocket, Mark grabbed his hand to stop him and Jordan let him with nothing more than a little sigh.

Jordan still carried around a little flip spiral notebook at all times, always the observant writer. Growing up he had never been that bad about taking notes in the middle of conversations with Mel, Dev, and me or with Eli, but my parents and especially Mark liked to tease him about how annoying it used to be and how it made him feel like he was in a zoo.

Mark nudged Jordan then, obviously encouraging him to talk to me or give me advice. I'd had about as much advice as I could stomach this evening, but Jordan's words were always worth paying attention to. He considered the girl in the distance for a long moment before looking back at me again.

'It's not my place to tell you what to do, but you should know that you're probably agonizing over nothing. She is your other half, so it is extremely unlikely that she will reject you outright. You are already in love with her and she will grow to love you if you let her, but until you do something, nothing will change.' Mark leaned in to give Jordan a sweet kiss when he was done.

I took in what he said despite my reluctance just a minute ago and turned to look at her again. She returned my stare almost instantly. What if this ended up being my only shot? When she turned away I decided why the hell not try and see if Jordan was right. I would do this now; make my move I guess you could say, but I honestly had no idea how to proceed, so I looked back to my uncles seeking advice, because let's face it—I needed help.

'Good luck. You'll figure out what to do,' Mark signed before I could ask for help in the first place, or ask something a little better and preferably less vague, because they left me alone right after that.

I closed my eyes counting to ten, trying to gather my courage and prepare to face her. I took one more deep breath and noticed something was off. I couldn't smell her like before, just a faint diluted whiff being dispersed by the wind. Panicking I spun around only to discover that I was too late and she was gone.

I sunk to my knees in the sand when my legs gave out; my eyes never left the spot she was supposed to be in. It took a full minute to comprehend what I knew to be true, that I waited too long and missed out.

Sitting back with my legs bent at the knee; I rested my arms on them and hung my head down fisting my hair. I did not see my feet even though I stared directly at them. I concentrated on staying calm and not letting this get to me, just inhaling and exhaling. At this rate all I'll ever end up with are missed opportunities and it will be a while before I'm up to trying again.

I registered a warm arm wrapping around my shoulders. I'm not sure if she is really warmer or if it is just an illusion generated because my sister smells like sunshine. Turning my head, I rested my chin on my shoulder to take in her concerned appearance. She pulled back to sign, 'Are you ok?' I nodded, so she followed that with an impish look and, 'Are you mad at me?'

Honestly, I was too numb at this point. I wanted to be mad at her, but I just could not seem to expend the energy necessary to call forth that emotion. I had experienced too many negative ones tonight as it was, so the only response her impertinent question received was a shrug.

'Do you want to know what we talked about?' It was a peace offering, but I was too scared to know for sure what was said. I didn't need to obsess more than I currently was then dissect and overanalyze each word.

'No,' I signed to make sure she knew I meant it, but I needn't have worried. Melody is great about not pushing me directly when I really don't want to be and perceptive enough to always know when that is.

'Let's stay on the beach tonight, maybe Freddie and Maribel will too. What'd ya say?' That actually sounded like a great idea. It had been a while since we last did that and I was too disappointed to stay at Krista's tonight. It was also my last night off before getting back to the regular patrolling schedule.

Freddie and Maribel had returned just after Dev's death and as the new Alpha Freddie was officially the youngest in history. Freddie was part vampire and though he looked older than me, fully grown, he was not even a teenager yet, not in human years. His imprint Maribel was young too, Krista's age and a little behind in English. She came from Ecuador and though she knew little sign language she was extremely nice. The five of us stayed and spent the next few hours playing frisbee, wrestling, and just goofing off in general until exhaustion won out and we passed out under the stars. It was one of those relaxing good times you always have with a group of close friends.

Almost two more weeks past much the same as the last ones, except no beach since it rained almost every day; I spent more time in my tree instead. The other differences included patrolling a few shifts a week again and Mel being adamant that I attend the Fourth of July bonfire tomorrow even though I hadn't planned on missing it. Mel's insistence combined with Taylor's sudden desire to drag me out camping tonight so we can meditate, not that I mind camping and he's probably right about this helping me rid my frustration, makes me think she's up to something. I just fervently hope it doesn't end badly for me.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	9. Scheming and Shenanigans

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**This is another two part chapter which serves as a lead in to the Fourth. I'm leaving in a couple hours to drive from New Mexico to Indiana, so Part II will be posted once I get there.**

**Thanks everyone who reviewed. I love you guys and I know a lot of you are frustrated about the slow pace the characters are moving. I promise they are trying and will get there, so I really hope you'll stick with this story and keep reading. :)**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**And thank you yay4shangai, you're an amazing beta and I really appreciate how supportive and encouraging you are! **

* * *

Scheming and Shenanigans

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23 June 2041

It's a little after five in the morning and I'm sneaking out. I'm not sneaking out to avoid discovery by my parents, nope these super secret stealth moves are all for Bree, my best friend whom I keep no secrets from—until now.

I had a mission and like all good missions, it required careful preparation to execute flawlessly. With that in mind, I devised a three part plan once I got home last night that would initiate the mission by allowing me to evade Bree's unwanted detection and breakout of my house.

Part one involved a wake up call. For this, I set the alarm on my phone and switched the sound to silence, so it would only vibrate when it went off. Then I waited for her to leave the room when she went to brush her teeth before sliding it into place under my pillow. I hoped by hiding it there, it would only wake me in the morning. No problems so far.

Now for part two, this was the hard part—keeping Bree asleep and everyone in the dark about my morning escapade. This meant I needed to get dressed elsewhere and make sure I was ready for work in time without having to come back home and someone seeing I had ever left. To accomplish this, I needed to stash my clothes for today in the bathroom without Bree or Beth noticing. I managed to conceal a sundress and swimsuit with the towels under the sink while Bree was downstairs getting a glass of water.

Part three of this little operation meant tackling my final obstacle, which just happened to be sitting in the kitchen at this very moment just waiting for me.

"Morning Dad, did you sleep well?" I asked, walking in and taking a seat across from him after grabbing a bowl. He passed me the box of honey and oat granola cereal sitting next to his hand without any other indication of life. I tried not to laugh as I grabbed some blueberries from the container in front of him and tossed them in my bowl, poured some vanilla flavored soy milk and started eating. And still no response from the man sitting across from me mechanically chewing a bite of his own bowl of cereal.

My absolute favorite quirk about my father is that he is not a morning person. He's up by five everyday so he can go in and open the store by six, but after he has consumed roughly an entire pot of coffee, which usually takes until he's been at the store for about an hour, he's not really there. He goes through the motions, but rarely remembers anything that happens during this time period. It's hilarious and something I know Beth will take full advantage of in the coming years, much like Angie did on occasion. She can sneak out at night after they go to bed and no one will notice, because if dad is oblivious, then mom is dead. She is the soundest sleeper ever and nothing, not even a bucket of cold water dumped on her, will wake her before eight.

"I might be in a little late today, ok? I have an errand to run," I let him know as I finished up my breakfast and rinsed out my bowl. I saw the collar of his red work polo tucked into his shirt. I bet it will still be like that when I get there in a few hours. I'm fairly sure he gave me a vacant nod of approval before I headed outside.

I should be back in plenty of time, so it didn't really matter either way, but I don't like not letting them know where I am. It was more or less a just in case kind of thing, but it also served to make them trust me more and allow me more freedom than they would otherwise. A sort of win-win relationship, you could say.

Now that part three was successfully completed, it was time for the actual task, acquiring a book on learning sign language. I'm not sure why I was so determined not to let Bree know about this, but I was. That was why I got up early this morning, so I could get the book and get to work without her ever finding out. It was also important that I do it today or I would lose my nerve altogether.

There still wasn't a book store in Forks and even if there was, I wouldn't chance running into someone I knew. This was another reason why I was willing to get up early, because I needed to drive a little over half an hour each way to find the book.

By the time I parked my car, I was impatient to be the first person inside when the store opened and silently begged that it remained empty until I had what I came for and was gone. All the secrecy was getting to me. I felt positive that I would die of shame if anyone noticed what I was buying. Like they would be watching me, ready to call me out for what I was doing; learning how to interact with a boy I was completely into, but had never talked to. I worried that what I was doing was obsessive and that it would make me come off as an overly zealous fanatic. It reminded me of Kai and Nikki, regardless of the fact that they would never waste time learning when there were far easier pursuits out there. I was extremely relieved that I didn't have time to continue agonizing a short wait later when the store opened at six.

The whole process turned out to be rather simple and the only person I saw inside was the elderly man that rang up my purchase and he looked too tired to have even paid attention to me or what I bought. I was a little confused that instead of being appreciative for that or feeling eager to get started, all I felt was disappointment after how much I had built everything up in my head. That and a tad bit ridiculous about my antics now that I had the book and was on my way to work.

It wasn't even seven yet when I arrived, so I had been right about not being late and even ended up really early. Now I had to worry about that not arousing suspicion from my dad and make him question me about it. I sat in my car as long as I reasonably thought I could get away with before storing the book in my trunk and trudging in.

Luckily, he didn't say a word about it when he saw me, just walked up semi-alert and cheerfully gave me the usual hug good morning. Hoping to keep it that way, I adjusted his still tucked collar causing him to flush and thank me before wandering off mumbling about not having noticed it. Guess he didn't remember breakfast either, making me grin as I watched him weave around display tables near the checkout counters.

Work dragged by at a snail's pace after that and I wasn't sure if it was because of the book I had waiting for me or because less than ten minutes after I got there it started pouring out and hadn't let up since. I was so wrapped up in what I was doing I hadn't noticed the overcast skies earlier and now it appeared our recent streak of good weather was at an end. The rain always made time seem to creep at an excruciatingly slow pace for me before, but the rain made it implausibly worse now because it meant the beach was out for this afternoon, goodbye sun tanning. And I was particularly disheartened when I suddenly realized that this would also cause me to miss out on my daily opportunity to see Levi.

I stayed later than usual even though I had started earlier in order to put off my talk with Bree as long as possible. Dreading would be a great way of describing how I felt about our upcoming discussion about the events of last night. I really wasn't in the mood to pick apart every detail and I had no intention of attending the Fourth of July festivities Melody had invited us to, but I wasn't all that certain I was going to be able to convince her that going was a bad idea.

Without my usual Levi fix I was a bit indifferent and robotic by the time I finally made it home. The exhilaration from this morning's adventure had completely worn off after the anticlimactic ending and the subsequent revelation that it would probably be days before I saw him again if this weather held up.

I hardly reacted to the sound of a book snapping shut then banging against a wooden table as I stepped inside the otherwise unnaturally silent house.

Turning towards the noise, my eyes took in exactly what I expected to see—Sabrina waiting in the family room to ambush me the second the front door opened. She was standing in front of our comfy rocking chair that faced the entryway with her arms crossed. I assume from the book resting on the end table next to her that she had been passing the time reading. It looked like the same one I'd seen her with during the car ride home last night, probably something about conspiracy theories; her latest interest came after hearing a rather heated debate about JFK in one of our last history lessons of the semester. She sat back down and pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them after I drifted over to the couch and slumped down joining her, resigned to the inevitable.

"You were avoiding me." It was a statement and she sounded hurt making it, but I couldn't see her face to confirm it or judge how bad, because she was looking outside instead of at me when she said it. I instantly felt horrible and closed my eyes wincing.

I hadn't considered how much it would hurt her feelings when I stayed late on top of leaving before she woke up this morning, both things unusual. I always made a point of saying bye when I left and letting her know when I would be late or was deviating from my usual routine. She had probably tried to call me as well, but I had forgotten to take my phone off silent.

Sabrina suffers from serious abandonment issues. Not surprising, considering she only sees or hears from her parents every couple months and her grandmother has never once, in the last four and a half years since it started, noticed that Bree never stays there more than one night a week. She copes with things relatively well and mostly because my family has practically taken her in, but we're pretty much all she has and sometimes I forget how easy that makes it for us to unintentionally hurt her. I can't believe I let myself get so wrapped up in myself that I forgot and with everything that has been happening lately, of course what I did would make her feel like I was shutting her out.

Sometimes I really sucked at being a friend. I knew I didn't deserve her friendship. Bree was fiercely protective of everyone in my family and loved each of us unconditionally. She was always looking out for me and trying to help, giving so much of herself and never asked for anything in return. Her generosity and selflessness were astonishing. There never seemed to be anything I did or could do for her in return, which made me feel like I was taking advantage of her loyalty.

"Bree, I'm so, so incredibly sorry. You're my best friend and I love you…you know that, right?" I sat forward and gentle reached over to touch her arm when I said it. I waited for her to nod and look back at me. She was already smiling again when I admitted, "I was so distracted thinking about—I mean, I just wasn't thinking when I forgot to call and let you know I was staying late at work," I corrected lamely, but not wanting to confess anything Levi related before asking, "umm, where's Beth?" I cringed at finishing with that, but I had to know. This wasn't a conversation I wanted her to overhear. I bit one side of my lower lip while waiting for a response.

"Down the street—at Natalie's. She was planning on staying the night," Bree volunteered relaxing and laughing a little, having already forgiven me. Completely understanding and even seeming to love it once realizing it had something to do with Levi. I sighed in relief, sitting back against the black throw pillows again.

"I really am sorry Bree," I whispered slowly drawing out each word so they had time to sink in.

"It's fine Kris, really. I was more worried you were pissed at me for some of the things that slipped out and for me butting in like I did," she leaned forward to look apprehensively at me as she admitted that. She always blamed herself, even when it wasn't her fault and I didn't want her to be upset so I rushed to reassure her.

"Honestly? You wouldn't be you if things had gone differently…and I wouldn't want that. Those are the traits I usually love about you," I teased with a faux-serious look at the end and knew it worked to lighten her mood when I saw her disgruntled face.

"Usually?" I heard her snap out indignantly a second before she whacked me with a pillow.

"Fine—I admit it…I am so grateful that you are like that because…well, it never fails to keep my life interesting," I said before we both burst into uncontrollable giggles. It was nice being back to normal, but it didn't last long.

"We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to…," Bree trailed off looking uncomfortable and turned back towards the window, leaning forward with her forearms resting against her legs.

"No, I want to…I could use a fresh perspective. So what are you thinking about last night?" I quickly fired off so she wouldn't doubt my sincerity and now that I'd asked, I really did want to know.

"I think Melody liked you and you clicked with her right away, which isn't like you." She replied confidently and didn't have to think before saying it, sitting back to look at me again. It made me wonder if she had thought about it a lot today and I was secretly glad that she thought Melody liked me too.

"Yea, weird huh…it was like I'd known her for years."

"Speaking of knowing—she probably knows her brother best so…," she trailed off tilting her head a little and giving me a very pointed, wide eyed suggestive look. When I groaned and covered my face with the pillow she'd thrown at me, she moved to sit next to me on the couch and confiscated the pillow. Then added, "well? Maybe you _should_ get to know her…it couldn't hurt to have her as an ally—you know?"

"I am not going to use her like that! She was way too nice," I gaped at Bree for suggesting it. Bree rolled her eyes at that.

"God Kris, I didn't mean it like that. I meant really become friends with her. Like you said, she's really nice…it never hurts to have another genuine friend and it'll be easy for you to be yourself around her. If you let her see how great you are I know she would want you to be with her brother. And yea, it doesn't hurt that with her help you'll also be able to get to know him—find out what he's like and get chances to be around him."

"Ugh. I wouldn't know where to start, she already thinks I like her brother—that's so awkward. And this is pointless…I know nothing about him!" Well, nothing except the fact that I am undeniably infatuated the guy, I added silently in frustration.

"So, all the more reason to take her up on her offer and let her teach you how to sign or something," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world and sat back smiling smugly at me.

"No, I don't want to get too emotionally invested when everything is so uncertain. If I run into her again maybe we could hang out, but I'm not going to call her up and invite her over…or ask for lessons. I really have no idea if he is even interested or if she is just meddling in his life. Maybe he always acts like this and it means nothing to him. I can't risk getting in too deep yet." I didn't look at her when I said this, picking at a little scab on my wrist. A souvenir from last week when I was still in a daze and tripped, scrapping it in the sand after he disappeared from one of our brief eye contact sessions. I still didn't look up when I was done either, instead wondering if she thought I already was and that right now I was just lying to myself. It sure felt like I was, but if Bree didn't think so then there was a chance I was still fine.

"Seriously? You don't think—_just_ maybe…that it just _might_ be possible…that you already _are_ in over your head?" The way she spoke, more than the words themselves caught my attention and when I glanced at her, the look on her face said it all. I decided it was in my best interest not to respond to that.

Now I truly couldn't tell her about how I spent my morning or I'd never hear the end of it. Right now we needed a subject change so I went for the next issue I knew we needed to discuss, trying to escape the upcoming bonfire.

"About the Fourth…I'm not going. I can't. I mean it. I'm not friends with any of those people…how desperate would I look? They'll think I'm chasing after him or something! Oh! And you saw how many people were there last night…you _know_ how much I hate that. It would kill me before the end of the night." I rushed to explain myself and defend my decision, out of breath by the end and thoroughly shocking she hadn't interrupted.

"Alright. You win," she quickly, a little too quickly, conceded. Adding with a little shake of her head, "I won't harass you about going." If I were shocked before, I was absolutely staggered now.

"Just like that?" It was too easy, there had to be a catch. Bree never gave up without a fight, so doing it now aroused my suspicions.

"Just like that," she confirmed with a single nod. "It wasn't my place to commit you like that…especially when I knew you wouldn't want to go. I thought going would help you…but I…well, it's not worth it—not if it means you're going to be mad at me."

That made me feel even worse for avoiding her earlier, so I let it go, ignoring all of the nagging doubts in my mind. Trying to suppress the thought that she was manipulating me; that she only said that last part because she knew how it would make you feel. Specifically, I pretended not to hear the little voice in my ear pointing out that she hadn't looked at me once when backing off, staring at her fidgeting hands instead.

We didn't talk about it again the rest of the night and wasted time by watching a movie with my parents after dinner. Bree stayed the night so I didn't get a chance to retrieve my newly acquired purchase.

~x~*~x~

27 June 2041

It was four days of the same dreary weather and general uninterested feeling before I managed to sneak the sign language book inside. Bree was doing one of her periodic visits home to let her grandmother know she was still alive and Beth was at Natalie's again tonight. I waited until after dinner to nervously transfer my acquisition from my car to my room, but I didn't open it right away.

At the store I had grabbed the first book I found and practically ran to the register to pay for it before escaping the store as soon as possible, afraid of being caught. Now, I climbed onto my bed and sat with my legs crossed, slightly hunched over the book resting in front of me. I contemplated it with an intensity that would make you believe the secret of life was contained within its pages. I felt irrationally paranoid to look through it, like I was doing something illegal.

With that thought in mind, I jumped up and locked my bedroom door then closed the forest green curtains in my room. It helped. Breathing was a little less difficult and I was a little calmer after that when I returned to my previous position. Hesitantly, I carefully picked up the book. It seemed to represent the bizarre bond I had with Levi—fragile. How could it be anything else? The link, our unmistakable connection, was like glass and if not handled properly, it would shatter, scattering shards that would slice me to bits and undoubtedly scar—if ever healing at all.

Gently opening the cover, I turned to a random page near the beginning and that was it. I was pretty thoroughly lost with the very first word in the upper left hand corner. They were described using pictograms of hands, which of course I expected, but there was an instruction too, one word—move. It was nearly impossible to make out precisely how the fingers were folded to shape the hand or distinguish a difference between it and the drawling next to it that also had the single word instruction of move.

I swear it was the vaguest damn thing I'd ever seen. How the hell were you supposed to move it? What the fuck? Were you just expected to know if it was side to side, up down, forward back, or maybe more of a shaking motion?

I had covertly watched him and the others signing at the beach enough recently to know that many words must look similar, so it was important to differentiate them with the specifics; specifics that didn't seem to be included in the descriptions here. Flipping through the pages showed more of the same. Fuck. I had to of bought the shittiest book out there.

I can't remember the last time I was this frustrated and angry, if ever. I'm usually pretty laid back or at least I used to be, now anything having to do with Levi sets me off.

Not knowing what to do, or possibly just not thinking clearly, I threw the book as hard as I could across the room. Along the way it bumped and knocked off the hand-blown vase of dried roses I got on my sixteenth birthday sitting on the top of my dresser. The vase smashed on impact. It was so close to what I'd been thinking earlier that staring at the splintered pieces littering my floor, all I could think about was that this was a sign I could not misinterpret.

My eyes burned and my vision blurred, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the ominous wreckage. I blinked repeatedly, but it just made the unfamiliar, painful sensation worse. I didn't look away until I felt a warm wet drop hit my hand. A level of despair I wasn't aware I was capable of feeling combined with utter confusion prevented any logical reasoning from taking place in my brain as I examined the spot on my hand. It wasn't until I saw another fall, landing on my leg that I reached up to touch my face. I felt like an idiot when my fingers came away damp and I realized I was crying. It was the first time in over six years.

Completely overwhelmed at this point, I crawled under the covers and let the emotions take over, crying myself to sleep. I actually felt better the next morning. Well enough to clean up my mess and stash the book under my bed for safe keeping before heading to work. I made sure not to think about why I didn't toss the book in the trash along with the broken glass.

~x~*~x~

3 July 2041

Things were…different after that; weird might an accurate way of describing them.

Beth was at her friend Natalie's more often than not, pissed that our parents hadn't caved yet about the dance classes. It was the longest I'd ever seen her stay mad, but then it was the first time I'd ever seen anyone hold out against her as well.

Bree had been nervous and twitchy for the last two or three days, but anytime I asked about it she just brushed it off. She hadn't gotten the job she interviewed for, but I didn't think this was related and I had no alternative explanations for what could be causing it. All I was sure of was that it made me extremely uneasy.

On top of that, the weather was complete crap. It was only nice even to visit the beach twice, but even then it was overcast and started raining about an hour after we got there.

Being suck indoors was making me restless and I was grateful it did. It was better than the apathy I had been feeling between sightings. It still happened sometimes, but since my emotional upheaval and total meltdown most of my time was spent feeling impatient or agitated.

Nothing changed where Levi was concerned. I still lived for seeing him each day, even when each day became every few days. I doubted it was possible to ever change that and was beginning to think it has always been this way; that there had never existed a time before he came into my life.

It was drizzling outside, again, and someone called in sick today so I ended up working later than usual, but was finishing up now. Sabrina had shown up about ten minutes ago claiming to be bored out of her mind. She'd never done this before, but instead of questioning it, I put her to work helping me restock the last fruit table, which held eight varieties of apples. She was driving me crazy though, adding one apple at a time and looking at the door after setting each one down. I was running scenarios of what would happen if I threw one at her when she grinned watching a girl with short, shiny black hair walk by. I realized who it was just before she called out to her.

"Hey, it's Melody right?" Her overly surprised and friendly greeting brought the lively girl to a halt in front of me. All my senses were on high alert; that was _not_ typical Bree behavior.

"Yea…Sabrina, wasn't it?" Melody cheerfully replied, then faced me looking even more excited, "and Krista?" I nodded, but didn't say a word. My face was scarlet, I just knew it was. I sighed. This felt way too much like a set up for it not to actually be one.

"Wow, funny just happening to run into you again…how ya been," Bree asked in the strangest voice I had ever heard from her, high pitched and monotone. It sounded rehearsed and I'm sure it was.

"It's good to see you too. I was just picking up some…," she looked around then spun and grabbed an orange from behind her, holding it up like a prize or as evidence of a legitimate excuse to be here, "oranges. I heard they were great here and I had some time to kill." Melody was a better actress than Bree, much more convincing, but I had a fairly good guess what would come next.

"Time to kill? Why is that?" And there it was; Bree was right on cue. The fixed smile she was wearing was replaced with a confused expression at least that's what I think she was going for, but it seemed a bit more painful than it should. Melody must have noticed too and agreed, because she was fighting back laughter as she looked at Bree.

I had to admit, this was pretty entertaining and I had no intention of resisting the opportunity so blatantly arranged for me. By now I was desperate for anything Levi related I could get. If I couldn't see him, maybe Bree was right and I could at least learn about him from Melody instead.

"Oh, well Taylor…my boyfriend—you met him at the bonfire, decided last minute to go camping with my brother. Guys only, manly bonding shit or something, but it meant I got left behind and everyone else already had plans for the night so I'm just sort of… wandering around town." She directed this at me animatedly talking with her hands and followed it with a wistful sigh as she slumped back to prop herself against the orange table. I could almost believe her tale, if not for describing it as last minute and the obvious preparation and planning on Bree's part.

"Hey, I know…you should have dinner with us! Oh, and we're playing cards after…it'll be great," Bree jumped back in to exclaim animatedly, even clapped her hands twice. She was really hamming it up and honestly at this point I really wanted to see if they had worked out for after getting me to agree. So when Bree gave me a pleading look that I'm sure she learned from Beth, all I did was nod. I was afraid if I opened my mouth to talk I'd burst out laughing and ruin the charade.

We left then, Bree dragging me behind her to squelch any attempts to flee in case I intended to change my mind. We only stopped long enough to introduce Melody and my dad and tell him that we didn't quite finish up, but we were going to get dinner started since she was joining us. He waved us off saying not to worry about it and that he and mom would be home soon.

Bree and Melody kept up their whole "wow, imagine running into you" thing until we got to the house. I couldn't take it anymore, it was just too funny and I was curious how Bree managed to get in touch with her, but when she saw I was red from stifling laughter rather than embarrassment, she sighed saying, "oh thank god. I couldn't keep it up any longer."

"And why were you to begin with?" My curiosity was waning and I wasn't sure if I should have asked that when Levi's sister would also be listening to the answer.

"You don't really want to hear the answer to that. So why don't we do the whole—don't ask, don't tell?" I could have kissed her for saying that. When I looked at Melody she just rolled her eyes and headed towards the house.

I loved that she was so relaxed and at ease here, even going so far as to let herself in despite this being her first visit. It helped alleviate any shyness I might have felt as we followed her in to get out of the rain.

We made our way to the, luckily spacious, kitchen at the back of the house because as we soon found out—Melody is a walking disaster in one. We were making fajitas; so all that really needed to happen was cut and sauté the veggies, grill some chicken, heat up a few tortillas, and get out any extra topping ingredients we wanted. But somehow she kept knocking things over, adjusting temperatures so things weren't cooking right, and grabbing random spices to dash on the veggies without looking which she was adding.

The whole process turned out to be hilarious. Food and dishes were everywhere. It looked like a tornado had swept though. I sincerely doubted anything would be edible and I swear it was a miracle the room was still standing.

Bree was laughing so hard she had curled up in a ball sitting in the corner pressed against the cabinets with tears streaming down her face and begging us to stop, insisting she would pee her pants if we didn't.

The whole time Melody continued to adamantly vow it wasn't her fault; that Levi did _all_ the cooking at their home and usually at Taylor's too or her Uncle Jordan was in charge so she never got the chance to learn. I wondered if she was only claiming innocence so she could tell me about Levi, but I didn't mind if that was the case so I went with it. I'm not sure I could have stopped laughing long enough to question her anyways.

A short while later my parents got there. They took everything in with a single glance before we were shooed out by my mom while she and my dad valiantly tried to save our masterpiece of a dinner.

I can't remember the last time I had that much fun cooking. The best part was just after we'd been relegated from the kitchen into the dining room and Melody looked at us seriously, gravely saying, "It could have gone worse. I'm not sure how, but there must be something else that could have gone wrong." A second later my mom's shout could be heard when she yelled—fire! Before we could react to that, my dad walked out with a raw chicken breast on his head. At our curious looks he explained in a less than pleased voice that it fell from the ceiling. Melody's straight face never waivered, but I was amused to see a faint blush grace her light coppery cheeks. We were expelled to the backyard after that.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	10. Dog or a Fast Wolf Hand?

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**This chapter is dedicated to TexasWild for helping me out with the poker references. Thanks!**

**The Christmas present surprise I promised will be up first thing Christmas morning, so look for that! I hope you like it :)**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks for being my beta yay4shangai, you are absolutely amazing!**

* * *

Dog or a Fast Wolf Hand?

* * *

_5 July 2041_

_How did I get myself into this mess? I can't believe this happened—this __**can't**__ be happening! Please, please let me wake up to find this was a dream or—you know what? Ugh, never mind that… just kill me instead. That __**has**__ to be easier solution. __**Why**__ did this happen? Oh that's right, I played poker with three unscrupulously cheating fiends that set me up…_

~x~*~x~

3 July 2041

That night when dinner was finally ready, I didn't ask if anything from our efforts had been salvageable or if they had found it necessary to simply start over from scratch. My parents didn't appear too ruffled or upset about our catastrophe which was good to see. They were even joking with us about it as we set the table.

The last plate of tortillas was being set out before we got started when a waterlogged Beth stomped in to join us. Her hair was soaked from the rain and large somewhat matted clumps were falling out of the messy bun she had arranged it in. She shrugged her dripping bright red raincoat off and dropped it on the floor beside her chair, revealing that even her paisley patterned peasant top had one or two spots near the hem and collar that were damp.

She looked pissed and didn't verbally acknowledge anyone as she roughly jerked her chair out and dramatically took her seat with an angry huff. She had been doing this all week, but I'm positive the theatrics were only enhanced by her current uncomfortably wet state and bedraggled appearance. Once seated, she aimed a glacial glare at our parents and her green eyes seemed to glow. Mom and dad stuck with there typical reaction, where dad ignored her and mom just shook her head a little. This only served to rile Beth up even more. She didn't touch the food when the rest of us got started, but no one seemed willing to speak first.

Her scowl was fierce as she stonily sat there pouting for a good five minutes before she took note of Melody's presence. I'm not sure how it took her so long, Melody is not exactly what one would describe as inconspicuous. It was amazing how rapidly her frosty demeanor thawed after that though, to be replaced with the charming little sister I used to know and love.

"Mel! Oh, I'm so glad you're here… you have to convince them," grabbing and pointing her fork at our parents sitting to her left then digging into the food with gusto as she went on to explain, "to let me take Tara's dance class with Chloe and Ava. Please, you know what an amazing teacher Tara is and the summer session starts next week so I have to convince them before then or it'll be too late." Melody looked uneasy for the first time since I met her, obviously not liking getting dragged into the middle of this on-going family dispute.

"Uh, well—," she started shifting in her seat nervously, her dark eyes rapidly scanning around the table before I cut her off to reprimand Beth.

"Beth! Leave Melody out of this… it's your own fault they aren't letting you… or are you forgetting that you don't even like dancing and quit not once, but twice before," I reminded her. This was the first time I weighed in on the subject and I was surprised that I did speak up.

"Kris, come on… I was too young then for it to count. I didn't think about what a useful skill it'll be to have when I move to New York or Chicago one day," she argued, almost begging me to understand and help her out while she re-fixed her hair like it was suddenly important for her to look presentable because she was talking about her future. It was impossible not to laugh over how life or death she was making this out to be.

"You know the instructor?" Mom chimed in asking Melody. It was the first interest she had shown with the topic. All previous discussions were cut short with flat out no's as soon as they started. Beth was enthusiastically bouncing in her seat for having made any progress at all, any thought of food forgotten for the moment.

"Yep, she's married to an uncle of sorts of mine and I watch her kids a lot. She's really nice," Melody informed us sweetly. She looked a lot more like her usual bubbly self when addressing the generic question than she had with the prior one.

"Is she anything like what Beth has described… in other words—a goddess in the dance world?" My mom inquired with a dramatic sigh and beseeching gaze that turned out to be a rather uncanny likeness to Beth's recent behavior causing the rest of us to laugh and Beth to cast a grimace our way again.

"Tara's great… she was an amazing dancer in Miami before she retired when she had her daughters. She's very dedicated and an encouraging teacher… I know another girl about Beth's age, Maddox, absolutely loved it." Melody praised and you could easily detect her personal affection for the woman.

I'm not quite sure what it was, but somehow Melody vouching for Tara did the trick. And that was after she destroyed the kitchen. Mom and dad looked at each other for a minute or so and Beth watched, scarcely moving or even breathing while she waited for the final decision to be made.

"Alright Beth here's the deal… one week, and only if your sister is willing to drive you. After that I'll talk to Tara and see if she thinks you are determined enough to stick with it this time. Got it?" Dad said sternly, giving her a quailing stare and waited for her to nod in agreement. A second later Beth was loudly squealing and dancing around the room hugging all of us.

"Kris, you will won't you?" Beth finally asked with a great deal of concern after sitting down, her head shooting up to look at me slightly panicked with the sudden realization that their might still be a snag in all her plans.

"What, you're asking?" I couldn't resist the sarcastic reply before laughing and promising I would.

The rest of dinner was filled with Beth gushing to our parents over how great dancing and Tara would be or how excited she was to hang out with Chloe more, but bummed Harley wouldn't be joining them. While they were occupied, Bree rather effectively grilled Melody for details about her own family. Melody kept her answers fairly general and even though they weren't specifically about Levi, I was fascinated and hung on every word she said.

I found out that her family lived in Seattle when she was born, but they were from La Push and moved back after having kids. Also that her parents got matching tattoos instead of wedding bands when they got married, which caught Beth's attention long enough for her to exclaim her approval of. Melody told us that her uncle Jordan, the one she mentioned earlier, lived in a cabin in the woods with his husband Mark and their son Eli who was also deaf like Levi, throwing in that the two of them were extremely close. Just as we finished up, she told us about how she had known Taylor her whole life and was deeply in love with him. Her entire being radiated happiness when she talked about him. I couldn't even find it in myself to be jealous, because listening to her left me with a delightfully pleasant feeling of warmth that was incredibly satisfying.

The time passed quicker than it had for me in a long time and dinner was over before I knew it. Afterwards, my mom declined our offer to help clean up the mess we created in the kitchen. I think she was afraid to see what would be left if we managed to get back in there again.

"Oh, and Beth, considering your attitude lately… the only way you're going to that party tomorrow, is if Krista goes with you," Mom called out, stopping Beth in her tracks. She was on the bottom step and I was in front of her, but looked back in time to see her eyes widen in distress before she spun around to see mom.

"But—," her incredulous complaint was cut short.

"And if you argue with any of us or complain about this at all… then you can forget about even trying the dance classes," dad added when he came up behind mom and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Beth was furious when the four of us headed upstairs with the intention of playing some poker in my room. We had a folding card table, but after that little chat we forgot it downstairs. When I mentioned this Melody volunteered to grab it and was gone before I could warn her about how heavy it was and returned before I could go help her. She maneuvered the table in and set it up like it weighed no more than a piece of paper and just shrugged before giving us an impish grin after noting all of our amazed stares. We arranged the table so that it was in the open area of my room in front of my bed and there was space to pull up chairs around it.

"Kris, you have to," Beth started and I could hear the anger still. I bit my lip trying to decide what to say, but didn't turn to look at her.

"Beth, drop it—okay," Bree told her, saving me like usual.

Beth was gone when I finally turned around, but came right back, rolling her black leather desk chair in to use and seeming calmer now. In fact she seemed almost unreasonably happy considering her attitude only a minute ago, as if she had secret knowledge the rest of us weren't privy to. I groaned to myself, she must be up to something. Everyone seemed to be up to something lately, and it always turned out to be interfering in my life somehow. I watched her grab the chips off my bookcase next to the door before I wheeled a matching roller chair from my desk over to Melody so she could use it. Bree wasted no time seating herself comfortably on my bed and already had her elbows propped up on the table shuffling a deck of cards.

I slide the stuffed jungle print reading chair from its usual position in the corner of my room next to the window, over to where the table was and across from Bree. The chair was pretty hideous looking and the seat padding was foam so over time it has been squashed to the point that now it doesn't return to its original state and you can feel a wooden board underneath. None of that mattered though, I got years ago at a garage sale and I was sitting in it when Angie first taught me how to play poker and I won every game that day. Ever since, if I was playing at home, which is basically the only time I played, I have used this chair.

I was just getting ready to sit down when Melody gasped and jerked the cards away from Bree. She only looked at them for a second before cracking up. I didn't need to see them to know why. It was a novelty deck featuring different sex positions, a Christmas gift from Bree last year. She constantly begged me to use them, claiming her only hope of winning was with them if she needed to beat me. Maintaining that those cards made me blush more and that it gave me away more easily than it did with regular cards, regardless of the fact that I still ended up the winner every time.

I suppose you could say I had unnaturally good luck at poker. That luck didn't carry over to other card games, but when I played poker, there was no stopping me. Personally, I didn't really think it had anything to do with luck, so much as I loved the game and all modesty aside, I was good. In fact, I was pretty damn great at it.

I took calculated risks. I planned ahead and considered the probability and bet accordingly, taking just enough chances to end up winning big. Nothing could compare to rush and exhilaration of a big wager when the stakes are high, but being confident things will go your way. Smart playing was only part of it though, more importantly, I was observant and that won me more games than luck ever could. I paid attention to the people around me and I was covert about it so they were caught off guard when I used what I saw. And it probably didn't hurt that I had a _lot_ of practice.

"Well this certainly is unexpected!" Melody got out between giggles as she looked up at me from where she had fallen on the floor laughing and currently still was as she flipped through the deck.

"We are _not_ using those." I directed this at Bree and she just smiled innocently while batting her wide grayish blue eyes.

"You're just afraid of losing," she shot back in a haughty tone, pretending to be all self-righteous by sitting up straight, pursing her pouty lips, and angling her nose up.

"No, I'm really not… I have no reason to be." I taunted as smugly as possible even though I could feel the heat pooling in my cheeks by the second. This caused Melody to start laughing as hard as she had been over the cards.

"We'll see," Bree concluded adding a cocky nod and obviously aiming to have the last word during our trash talking. Hearing that was apparently too much for Beth because she started giggling too as she got up to locate a real deck from my desk.

Sabrina had always sucked. There was no other way to describe it. She was a horrible player, as bad as I was good. A fish, always made the wrong move and took crazy risks. When she played, she either bet everything or nothing. Bree was also the easiest player in history to read. Every time, without fail, she went for pairs and when it worked she pulled on one of her blue or purple curls. One thing I've never understood about her, is that she always knows exactly what I'm feeling and more often than not what I'm thinking, but when we play she's at a total loss.

"If I do… it won't be to you." I mockingly retorted, secure in the knowledge of its validity. Smiling at her coyly and loving that I just prevented her from winning this round of mud slinging and that just saying those words helped get me in the proper mindset to play.

"Why not? Is she that bad?" Melody asked still amused by our antics, fluidly getting up from her reclined position on the floor then collapsing sideways into her chair with one leg draped over the armrest and making it roll back a little. I eagerly answered our newcomer before Bree could defend herself.

"You saw her earlier, right? Seriously, there's a reason Bree is always honest… the girl cannot lie—it's basically impossible for her." I explained dubiously while exasperatedly shaking my head to really get the point across.

"So true," Beth confirmed as she finally pulled out a deck and joined us at the table. Shuffling, she mischievously offered, "I'll deal."

"Umm… no," I said taking the deck and finally sitting down myself, ready to get started.

I loved the feel of the cards as I easily controlled their movements. It felt right, familiar, like a security blanket after a nightmare when you're five years old. There was a sense of confidence and strength that filled me when I held and manipulated them. It was something I only felt when playing cards and I marveled that I was able to draw it with a simple touch.

"Oh, yea… just so you know—Beth cheats… like every hand she can," Bree stage whispered to Melody.

That was why I wouldn't let her deal. Typically we switched each hand, rotating around the table, but Bree and I had gotten to the point where we always skipped Beth. My puckish little sister had gotten way too good at cheating; I had never seen a better mechanic than her. It was funny to listen to her try and convince us that we were falsely accusing her afterwards—she always had some elaborate explanation to proclaim her innocence or account for some unforeseen mistake that she had no hand in and left her blameless. Despite knowing the comedic value it would provide, we determined it was a better alternative just to limit the number of opportunities she had from the start.

"Hey!" Beth yelled and angrily smacked Bree's shoulder making all of us laugh more. "You weren't supposed to tell her about that!"

"Don't worry… I have a lot of practice with cheaters, Harley and surprisingly Annabelle both do—oh, she's a friend on the rez." She explained to our inquisitive looks.

I wondered if she did. I doubted it; she didn't seem like the cheating type. I couldn't wait to get started so I could see what kind of player she was. I had a feeling she would be good, but probably not aggressive enough to go for a win in a friendly game, just playing for fun instead. It would be interesting, trying to figure her out; a new challenge and good practice for studying Levi.

I couldn't help thinking about him when I thought of Melody. By this point, I'm usually completely focused on the game, but not tonight. Nope. Right now I'm just wondering how much more she'll talk about him and how I could encourage her without asking myself.

"Does your brother?" Bree asked and I glanced at her, catching her eye and letting her know how grateful I was for asking that, then tensing slightly while I waited for the answer.

"No, Levi's too good… doesn't need to." She watched me while saying it and I could feel the flush it caused me as well as my heart's sudden wild fluttering. I slowly took a deep breath to calm down even though her words made me want to leap up and spin around the room.

"Alright then… let's get started—five card draw, yea?" At the other's nods I dealt the cards then continued, "ante up," throwing my own chips in. Then the real fun began.

The next two hours or so were relaxing and unbelievably fun. We sat around casually joking and playing hand after hand. We didn't actually gamble with money. A few years ago Beth and I did once and it just happened to be one of the rare times our mom checked in on us and found out. So yea, she would flip, as we discovered then during the epic sit-down she gave us—dealing with her once was enough, thanks.

We talked about a number of subjects, but the only time I can truthfully claim listening to was when Melody captured my complete attention by mentioning Levi. Each and every time she did I was hooked. She knew it too, I'm sure of it considering how often she said his name at this point compared to earlier and how she watched me as she spoke about him. It was like she was judging my reaction and finding something about it that she approved of enough to continue. It was odd, but I didn't mention it because she held all the cards in this case. She was like a window that I could look though to catch a glimpse of him. I feared irritating her because she could easily board up the frame and shut me out, preventing any additional peaks of the real him instead of the imaginary him I was building in my mind.

The details filtered into my mind like a cool breeze of fresh air on a hot summer day. I relished each one. I found out he was seventeen, the same age as Melody, though they looked older, and I assumed they must be twins; that he goes to school in Port Angeles with Eli; he's single; extremely outdoorsy; and his favorite fruit is an orange—which I was delighted to know because they're my favorite too.

It was getting late when she was recounting a story about a recent event where he, Taylor, and Freddie were at a bar in Port Angeles when they were supposed to be doing some sort of work around the rez, but that was all she got out before Beth interrupted.

"Wait… are you trying to hook Kris up with your brother? It's a waste of time if you are. It won't work—I've been trying to hook her up with Natalie's brother for over a year now and she won't cooperate," Beth said matter-of-factly. I gasped, shocked she said that and about to die of mortification. My throat was sealed shut so no words could escape and my face was on fire.

"Do you like Natalie's brother?" Melody had that intimidating look back when she asked me and her dark mahogany eyes were piercing, but underneath that she looked scared. That revelation was startling.

"No! That's why I won't go out with him." I quickly denied, frantically shaking my head and staring at her stunned by the turn this conversation had taken.

"Then why are you trying to hook them up?" Melody asked, turning that same look on Beth, except she didn't cower like I did, in fact she just sighed as if she were about to explain something to a small child that she had already explained twenty times before.

"Because she's sixteen and she doesn't get out enough. I want her to have some fun, cut loose, enjoy life… and I want her to do that now, while she can. That way she doesn't look back one day and realize she's miserable because she wasted all this time now!" Beth heatedly exclaimed, getting louder with each word so she was yelling by the end. I was more surprised than I cared to admit hearing her say that, but it confirmed what I'd always believed. She might think of herself first and foremost, but that didn't mean she didn't also think of the people she cared about.

"Beth I swear… sometimes I can't help but love you." I told her with a shy smile.

"If you love me, then you'll go tomorrow," the little manipulator replied. I snorted, where on Earth did she learn to think logic and reason worked that way?

"Oh… that gives me an idea!" Melody lit up and leaned forward like she was sharing a juicy bit of gossip, "lets play one last hand—I have to leave soon anyways… but we'll change the stakes a little." I'm not sure if I was imagining it or not, but when I leaned in closer too, it seemed as if an exuberance filled her entire body creating a tangible aura of heat emanating from her.

"If it means going tomorrow I'm in," Beth agreed, not caring about the other details and eyeing the deck like a lion stalking its prey. If that was the case, then there was no way I would let her cheat this hand.

"It does," she confirmed with a playful wink at Bree.

"I'm in," Bree decided, grinning back at Melody. It was a damn conspiracy.

"Ugh… what are the terms?" I groaned in defeat.

"Excellent!" Melody laughed, "okay, so you win… you don't have to go, any of us win… well, I think you get the point," she added the last with a wicked smirk after pointing to Beth and Bree. I nodded in acceptance.

So far I had thoroughly trounced all three of them tonight. I had been right about Melody; she was more interested in talking and having fun than she was in playing and actually wasn't all that much better than Bree was. Knowing that, I was determined to watch Beth closely. She was the one most anxious to go and I knew she cheated.

Melody dealt the hand. She kept glancing out the window in the process. Curious, I turned around to look too, but didn't see anything. As I turned back I realized how stupid I just was considering the importance of this hand. Luckily it wasn't long enough for Beth to do anything since she hadn't moved at all.

I looked at my hand and was excited to see I had three fours, a queen, and a nine. This was looking good. I could trade the queen and the nine.

After we exchanged cards, Beth huffed and slammed her cards against the table before sinking back into her chair, not even bothering to make an effort to bluff. I felt bad and almost willingly agreed to take her tomorrow anyways, but I was in the game and I wanted to win first and then decide if I would.

I looked at my new cards, a king and a four. I had four of a kind, there was no way they were going to top that.

Melody was looking out the window again. Not worrying about Beth anymore, I turned again. Still nothing. I jerked back when I thought a flash of light copper skin belonging to Melody appeared in my peripheral vision and jerked back around, but she was in the same position as she was before—I had taken note of it. I was still eyeing her when she shrugged and folded.

Surprised, I looked to Bree. She was staring at her cards and I would say she appeared confused, but that didn't really make sense so maybe she was distressed. It seems her usual luck showed up for this hand. She tried to mask her face when she noticed me.

"Ready," she asked.

I nodded and we both showed our hands. Once hers were in my line of sight everything else fell away. It was all wrong, the cards were lying. There was no way she had a straight flush. The little red hearts mocked me from the faces of her six, seven, eight, nine, and ten all in a row. I didn't see or hear anything, just focused on what this meant.

I can't believe it. I _lost_. I have never been so sure of winning, then just—not… and to Bree of all people?! I know they cheated, they had to of, but I'll just look like a sore loser if I say anything. This was one of those moments where if someone else was watching, the outcome would be blatantly obvious and right now I felt that I should have seen it coming because it was glaringly apparent that this would happen, but the simple fact is—I hadn't.

The repercussions came to me a moment later, this means I'm going to the bonfire tomorrow. I'll see Levi… maybe something will happen. Then, like a premonition or perhaps the foresight I lacked during this game, I sensed that something would happen, but it might not be anything positive. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

~x~*~x~

_5 July 2041_

_Why did I let myself end up here and why the hell did I ever wish for this?_

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	11. Sparks

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Sorry for the wait, I didn't get a chance to write while I was at home. I don't get to see my parents very often, so I was busy spending time with them or traveling. **

**Thanks for all of the reviews on this story and my new one about Taylor and Melody. Make sure you check it out if you haven't already!**

**I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you have a great New Year's Eve!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai, you're the best!**

* * *

Sparks

* * *

4 July 2041

The burning gases of the fiery yellow sun had just begun to mark its flaming descent from the high noon position, not that you could tell. It was too well hidden behind the extensive and impenetrable layer of towering storm clouds high up near the stratosphere. They had gradually lightened to a dull blue-grey after releasing a torrential down-pour around dawn this morning, but they were still effectively blocking the golden rays. Though I doubted it would rain anymore today, I was sure that the sun wouldn't reemerge.

The weather didn't act as much of a deterrent for us, just like it never had in the past either. It was an unavoidable occurrence if you lived or planned any event to be held on the Olympic Peninsula, including those for the Quileute's residing in La Push. I was at First Beach, along with almost every other person that knew the secret of our tribe, for the annual Fourth of July picnic and bonfire celebration.

Eli and Jordan were conversing next to me, but I wasn't actively participating. I was focused on waiting for the Lynch family to arrive and I hoped standing by Eli would alert me to their presence sooner, in case I missed it myself. He seemed to have a built in radar detector that let him know when Ava was nearby and I was ready to pounce once it was triggered.

I learned something this morning and I needed to act on it before I talked myself out of it. I let my mind wander back through the event while I waited.

Melody was waiting at home for Taylor and me to return from our camping excursion the night before. She even prepared breakfast and had it ready for us, if you consider pouring cereal into a bowl and orange juice from a carton making breakfast—for her, I counted it. She met us at the door, not letting us get inside before she roughly grabbed Tay around the neck. She pressed herself flush against him to plant a brief, but extremely heated kiss on his full grinning lips and their matching skin tones made it nearly impossible to distinguish one scantily clothed body from the other.

Releasing him, she squeezed past to get outside and sprung at me. I caught her around the middle and swung her around, spinning in circles as fast as I could until we were both dizzy and stumbled apart. Tay caught Mel before she could fall, but I wasn't so lucky. I landed in a muddy patch of grass, hard, splattering the other two in the process and grinned, looking up to see both of them laughing even as Mel's searching gaze assessed me.

I knew she was thrilled to see me looking so relaxed; meditating yesterday really had helped me release the mounting stress and anxiety I felt and allowed me to center my mind.

Following the pair back into the kitchen, I set about preparing omelets to go with the cereal while I watched Melody fidget from the corner of my eye. It was an interesting site. She was balancing on one foot and wobbling, strange considering she is one of the most agile wolves, after Freddie and Randy. I also thought she might be having a private conversation with herself as well based on the faces she was making and the little hand gestures; it was probably about how best to approach the confession she was about to give me. Deciding to put her out of her misery sooner rather than later, I wacked her arm with the spatula; that got her attention.

'Just tell me why you wanted me gone yesterday…I won't be mad—swear,' I signed, smiling to let her know I was serious and that whatever it was, I was fine with it.

'I hung out with Krista yesterday…don't be mad! I worked out this great plan for you—hear me out…you have to talk to Tara and Phil, see if they'll let you take the girls to dance from now on instead of Phil, because she'll be taking her sister.' She signed all this with an overly wide toothy smile, only her teeth were clenched so it made her look like a clown, minus the red and white make-up.

I gave her no reaction, letting her sweat it out as punishment for breaking her promise… again. It was actually a great idea and I couldn't wait to talk to them about it, but I knew there was more because Mel's nervousness was continuing to increase as she stood there. I raised an eyebrow silently asking for her to give me the "worst" of it.

'She's coming today,' Melody signed then immediately retreated to the safety of Taylor's lap where he was seated, eating at the table, and peaked back at me over his shoulder after nuzzling him and kissing his cheek.

I didn't move at first, just blinked two or three times at where my charming and clever sister had been standing while I processed what this meant, all of the possibilities it gave me and the fact that she would be getting to know the people in my world. Emerging from my stupor, I stalked around the counter and over to where they were sitting. Taylor tensed, but didn't move to stop me, knowing I wouldn't hurt Melody when I pulled her up.

Then, I shocked her by hugging her tightly. When she sufficiently recovered, she squeezed me back just as hard.

'Thanks…for caring,' I signed after pulling away.

Eli zooming past me, speeding as fast as his growing legs would carry him, pulled me back to the present and away from the rest of that conversation. Finally, they were here.

I made my way over to where Phil and a very pregnant Tara were standing with Solace, who was carrying Phil's currently youngest, Hope, and after barely pausing to greet them or exchange hellos, I used Mel's suggestion and explained what I was after. By the end of my request, I was practically begging them to let me drive the girls to class Mondays and Fridays from now on, while still trying to reveal as little as possible about my motives.

It used to be easy for Tara to get the Chloe and Ava to their dance classes because they lived a short walk from the studio where she taught all day, but after they moved into Phil's place, they had to make new arrangements. Their classes started at four, the last class of the day, but they didn't want to hang out there all day while she worked when they could be at home spending time with friends instead. Luckily, Phil didn't actually need to work, this allowed him to drive them there and drop them off, then Tara could just bring them home with her afterwards.

No one said anything, not even Solace and I had really expected him to call me out for not being completely up front from the start. When they continued to stare at me, it made me nervous, so I tacked on how much easier this would make things for Phil. Using the argument that pointed out how he was already taking care of Hope and preparing for the up coming arrival of their son, who they planned to name Harrison, and this would eliminate the hassle of loading them up in the car several times a week just to drive to and from Port Angeles.

All three of them were wearing identical knowing smirks directed at me by this point, but hadn't bothered to ask why I wanted to do this. My reasons must be pretty obvious; I thought rubbing the back of my neck and wincing a little as I prepared for the ribbing or worse—gushing, I was sure to get about this.

Neither came. Instead, Phil and Tara both nodded as one and let me know that it would be fine for me to do that and didn't make a big deal of it at all. They didn't even need to look at each other before their simultaneous agreement. I sighed in relief; this was awesome. Things were actually starting to work out and fall into place for me.

I stayed with them for a while longer and we worker out the specific details of when and where I would pick up the girls. Not much time passed before Krista showed up. I didn't need to turn around to know she was here. I could sense her presence long before I could smell or see her, an unusual occurrence for me.

I didn't even bother saying goodbye before I was gliding away, oblivious to everything except her. I slide from one small group of family or friends mingling to another, weaving past the rambunctious kids in between, and easing my way around the perimeter of each new circle. Staying on the edge, with my focus elsewhere, made it possible to never get drawn into their discussions, but still maintained the appearance of belonging as I drifted closer to her.

Her little sister took off the minute she set foot on the beach, just like usual, and I watched as she headed straight for Harley. It had been more than a week since they last hung out. Krista and her friend Sabrina stayed where they were, talking to each other and occasionally looking around at all the people gathered here, until Melody raced over and greeted the two girls with a massive bear hug that almost succeeded in tackling them both to the wet unforgiving sand.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from her endlessly long legs once I discovered her shorts were about as tiny as the pairs my sister typically sported. I kept my distance, but shadowed their progress towards the murky edge of the deep bluish-grey water as Mel dragged them over to where Jesse was splashing in the surf with her niece Sarah. It was extra foamy today because this morning's storm left the waves more turbulent than normal. Throughout their conversation, Krista kept sneaking glances around the beach. I didn't want her to see me, so I continued my solo musical groups routine, relieved that I blended in easier since I had foregone my recent tradition of solid black clothing and worn jeans and a plain white shirt instead.

Mel took off at one point and Krys joined them not even a minute later. I could see her confusion as she watched him interact with Sarah and question Jesse about it. Whatever Jesse said seemed to intrigue her, but I noted that it only served to bewilder Sabrina further.

I was fascinated as I watched Krista, absorbing every gesture she made and instance she spoke. I was trying to decode and interpret their meanings, although she didn't say much and she had her arms crossed over her chest. I hope Mel didn't force her to be here or abandon her when she was feeling overwhelmed or anything like that. She was biting her puffy nude lower lip too, which she usually did when she was nervous. I was worried about her, but I didn't really know what I should do, so I just continued to track her movements as she and Sabrina headed over to a vacant piece of driftwood positioned near one of the fires.

It was just getting dark out when I ran into my parents while doing what my dad termed as my vulture impression, considering I was repeatedly circling the fire pit at this point. When I admitted Krista was here, he and mom made me point her out from where she and Sabrina were now sitting with Mel and Annabelle in exchange for promising not to go over there tonight. They left me at about the same time Sabrina left the fire with Annie, but I didn't pay attention to where any of them went.

I had been standing alone for quite some time when Taylor joined me. He just stood next to me, didn't say anything, and stared at the two girls that had captivated my complete attention. I was so lost that he had to poke me to draw my eyes away so he could say something.

'I see you're really taking advantage of this opportunity to get to know her,' he signed with a chuckle and a little shake of the head.

'I'm working on it,' I signed back, looking past him to steal a quick glance at her again.

'And what? Avoidance is the best you could come up with?' He signed, highlighting the obvious problem with my preferred method.

'I'm considering my options,' I returned defensively with a scowl, not really appreciating his sarcasm at the moment or finding it the least bit useful. Sighing, because I knew he did want to help, I reluctantly admitted, 'I'm not really sure what the best approach would be.'

Nodding thoughtfully, he asked, 'so you don't want to try any of the things we talked about this morning?' When I shook my head, he shrugged before signing, 'alright. I'm going over there… and you're coming with me.'

'No,' I signed backing up a step and adamantly refusing, even adding, 'I can't,' to support my decision.

'I'm not asking you to talk to her,' Tay signed, not accepting no this time and explaining, 'all you'll have to do is sit there. We can roast hotdogs so we'll have a legitimate excuse to go over… we can even be nice and share,' he signed before pointing down at the supply of food and roasting sticks by his feet that I hadn't seen him carrying in the first place. When I didn't budge, he threw his hands up in the air dramatically, before asking, 'what have you got to lose?' He followed that weighted question by crossing his arms and staring me down.

I gave in. Of course I did. Trying to stay away from her was like trying to find Atlantis—impossible and a complete waste of time. As soon as he registered my defeated expression, he gathered up the dinner stuff and began making his way over, confident I would follow. Just before we reached them, a new thought occurred that made me panic and grab his arm, jerking him around to face me.

'Don't even _think_ about leaving me here alone,' I signed forcefully, pausing between each word to make sure my meaning was perfectly clear.

'I won't, promise.' He reassured me, but I didn't honestly feel any more certain.

I managed to stumble forward another yard or two after that. Then, for the span of three heartbeats, I lost total control of the motor function potion of my brain and was no longer able to command my feet to continue walking. This realization became apparent when they brought me to a jarring halt without my permission and I fought to keep my feet stationary rather than let them carry me away into the woods where they longed to take me. I was shaking too. I had to get myself under control before I phased right here in front of everyone.

I concentrated on the mental exercises I did with Tay the night before that had worked so well to channel my energy. They didn't help. Desperately, I started a breathing exercise and focused only on the sensation of the damp salty air heavily infiltrating my lungs. This allowed Taylor to catch me off guard enough that I was no longer in danger of phasing when his blistering steel grip discreetly encircled my forearm, locking like an unbreakable band. This worked to chain me to him, so that I was forced to follow as he dragged me towards whatever Fate decided to throw at me tonight. Each step got easier as I ignored the warring feelings of self preservation.

Then suddenly I was sitting next to her, as close as I dared, just to her left with less than a foot between us and leaning back against the same piece of driftwood. I was so nervous I had to keep taking deep breathes to stay calm. I let her heady floral scent fill my head and swirl around until it had saturated every corner of my mind. The potent mix of her natural fumes kept me grounded and managed to suppress my inner wolf's demands to either take off again or grab her and mark her as mine.

She smelled different, so I thought about that to distract me. I closed my eyes to concentrate on identifying the subtle alterations of her unique blend. All previous traces of coconut were diluted almost beyond detection and the wildflower component was becoming more dominant with every passing second.

Trying to understand why it was changing, I studied her from the corner of my eye. She was purposely staring at Mel and not at me or Taylor, even though we had just sat down next to her, with Tay adjacent to me and across from Mel. Krista's breathing was shallow and very rapid. She was likely to start hyperventilating if she didn't get it back under control soon. And our proximity had made her tense—more so than me even. She was strung tighter than a guitar string and I half expected to feel musical vibrations caused by the wind plucking at her taunt form. I felt an incorrigible sense of elation knowing that I was responsible for affecting her to this degree.

Mel caught my attention to say hi and I grinned back at her, not trusting myself to respond with something more coherent than that.

The burning alerted me to Krista's eyes blazing a trail from my chest to my eyes, pausing to linger on my mouth during their ascent. So, like the obedient slave I have become, I looked to my master, my only desire to do her bidding and fulfill her every need.

She was wearing a curious half smile with one side stretched up farther than the other until I met her stare. Then it became a real smile, one of the rare ones that showed the dimple in her left cheek and teased of one in the other. The smile, which I had so far only seen her bestow on Sabrina. Her bowed lips, pinker than I had realized, curved to frame her straight, white, glittering teeth and reached all the way to her eyes, making them sparkle and shine with such invitingly open friendliness and warmth that it made my insides all gooey.

Her eyes were so clear, pure green without a hint of gold or amber flecks. They were a deep forest green, like the leaves on my oak tree behind her house, thickly rimmed with a darker green that reminded me of pine needles. And radiating from the iris, like a thinly fingered starburst, was a lighter mint green.

I was falling, hurdling into the fathomless abyss of their green depths. It wasn't that she was my sun, the center of my universe, but that I was with her—joined. We were connected as a single entity so that I was just along for the ride as she spun.

Her faced flushed the most endearing and brilliant shade of scarlet imaginable and she buried it in her knees. Not wanting to embarrass her further or prolong her suffering, I turned my head back to Taylor. He was giggling quietly as he looked on, so I quickly told him to shut it.

After that, Taylor kept up a steady stream of signing in an effort to keep me distracted so that I wouldn't have to think up something to say myself in order to not feel awkward sitting over here. He also never once commented on my jumbled, incomplete, or delayed replies. Although I do remember that I did somehow manage to get the conversation started by asking him about how work was going, but I only caught a few words saying something about a new guy being transferred from Seattle later this month following his probation period.

It was during this answer when he realized that I was unsuccessfully trying to read Mel's lips since she wasn't signing and I had been trying to eavesdrop on her conversation with Krista. He offered to sign everything they were saying because she wouldn't know anyways, but I refused. I explained that it seemed wrong, comparable to if I were to listen in on a phone call, since she was less likely to censor her words because she knew I couldn't hear what she was saying right now. Tay nodded in understanding then changed the subject again as we started cooking.

I carefully made the first one for her, and when I offered it to her, I was rewarded with another real smile that left me feeling completely boneless. I ended up charring the next several that I cooked and didn't even notice as I was eating them until Tay mentioned something about it.

Sabrina came back after a while and sat on Mel's other side so that when she turned, she was almost directly facing us. I roasted up a hotdog for her too, making sure not to burn it, and was the recipient of the most breathtaking smile yet from Krista for doing so. It was so amazing that it left me feeling so stunned and dazzled that I knew I couldn't even attempt anymore cooking because I'd be a fire hazard the rest of the night. It was so bad, that I almost missed seeing Sabrina's eyes repeatedly dart back and forth between Krista and me, and how she was forced to stifle a grin whenever one of us glanced her way. Her reaction gave me hope that Krista did feel the imprint and Sabrina's response was at least partly generated from some kind of secret, best friend only, insider information.

Several others stopped by throughout the evening, but they never stayed for more than a couple of minutes and neither Krista nor I really acknowledged them.

I couldn't believe how well the evening was going. I had made more progress tonight than I had in almost a month. It was so incredible just to sit with her that I almost didn't mind that it was pretty much the only progress we were likely to make considering communication was still a major issue. I was also reluctant for anything to happen that could alter the relaxed state we had finally settled into next to one another, but I knew the fireworks were about to start any second. I could smell the burning sulfur from a match tip being lit.

The shimmering display across the infinite night sky surprised me, because it actually worked to my advantage. Krista would flinch about a half second before I would see the burst of color slash onto the empty canvas leaving a bright splash like a drop of falling paint impacting the floor. During her distraction, it went unnoticed when I scooted a fraction of an inch closer, slowly working my way towards her.

Then, a particularly colorful firework lit up the sky causing Krista to start so violently she jumped a good five inches off the ground and landed with her arm flush against mine. When she didn't move immediately, I leaned closer causing a larger area of our sides to press together. She still didn't move, so we stayed that way for the rest of the show. Her cringes were virtually nonexistent after that, identified only by the gentle shift of her shoulder nudging lightly into me or her sheer sleeve gliding up her arm slightly, allowing the exposed skin to brush against mine. Each new contact sent a pulse along my nerves that felt reminiscent of the current Taylor's police taser produced.

No one was willing to leave once the last glowing ember had faded leaving only wisps of grey smoke as evidence of the elaborate patterns that had burned above us at all. The peaceful atmosphere was sedative, encouraging all of us to carry on our idle banter a while longer, despite the hour growing later.

Krista kept dosing off, her head tipping sideways to rest against my shoulder. She didn't even notice when Sabrina jumped up abruptly and took off. I looked at Mel for an explanation.

'She is going to find Beth. She didn't want to wake Krista yet… we can wait with you, if you want.'

I smiled and gave a single nod in response, not daring to move enough to sign something more in case I disturbed her any. I watched her peaceful content expression, savoring every stolen second I experienced during this intimate moment, while waiting for the girls to return and sprint the sleeping girl home and away from my side where I could already feel that she belonged.

A shiver racked her slight frame and I couldn't resist the instinctual urge to wrap one of my strong, warm arms around her narrow shoulders to protect her. She snuggled closer when I did, burrowing into my side so that her head was resting on my upper chest near my shoulder and one of her delicate arms was draped across my stomach with her hand over my heart. My own long limb curled all the way around her so that my massive, long fingered hand could easily trace patterns along her forearm. As I drew the infinity symbol I had grown up seeing on my parents, my uncles, and as of a couple years ago Melody and Taylor, I felt her heart rate speed up. I marveled at being able to inspire such a reaction in her even while she was sleeping and wondered if it was the same when she was awake and others could hear the change in her heartbeat when it happened.

She made me deliriously happy. I wanted to stay awake all night just holding her and watching her sleep in my arms as the blue tinted flames danced, casting shadows over her sun-kissed skin. Unfortunately, I felt such intense and powerfully consuming peaceful emotions that they relentlessly sent lethargic waves crashing over me until I was soon drifting off as well.

My next conscious thought took place when I was jostled awake by the light weight of a warm body leaping from my lap. I'm not sure when our position shifted and I don't remember if it was me that pulled her even closer or not; I could not care less how it happened. All that mattered was that it did, because now every inch of my body that had been in contact with hers was tingling and seemed more alive than it ever had before. It had felt right to hold her that close and it took every bit of self control I possessed to wrestle and restrain the wolfish urge insisting I grab her and haul her back into my lap where she so obviously belonged.

But I didn't move, afraid to scare or embarrass her further, considering her reaction upon waking up to the sight of me. I raised my eyelids just enough to peak through my dark lashes searching for her and was surprised to see a colorful and brightly lit sky. It was already morning. She moved into my line of sight then and I had a front row seat to watch her urgently whispering to Sabrina as she shook her sleeping sister awake. She looked freaked, panicked, and horrified all at once. I didn't know what to think or do, but it didn't matter because she was already running to her car with Sabrina and Beth only a step behind.

I opened my eyes fully and locked eyes with Melody over the twisted and scorched ruins of last night's fire. I stared at my rumpled and sandy companions for a minute hoping someone else would start.

'It's not what you're thinking,' she signed immediately, sitting forward from her seat between Tay's legs so that she was no longer leaning against his chest and watching me earnestly. I didn't know what I was thinking right now so I waited for more.

'It's not. She bolted because her parents are probably freaked they stayed out all night without letting them know,' Taylor explained after shifting to the side of my sister so that his hands were free to sign.

'Oh, and she was responsible for getting Beth home early last night… she's just worried about their reaction.' Mel added, then with a sad smile, 'it's my fault. I was supposed to wake her after an hour or two if Bree nodded off first, but I accidently fell asleep too.'

'You're fine, Mel. Hopefully she won't be in too much trouble,' I signed, brushing off her concerns. I just hope that really is all she was upset about and not our sleeping arrangement.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	12. Sweet Dreams, Sleeping Beauty

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me! And thanks liljenrocks for the info on David and Trisha's kids and on Jesse, I really appreciated it! **

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, and twihardcaligurl. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Also if you haven't already, check out intiMACYx33's new spin-off story called The Complicated Steps to a Simple Love. It's about Levi's cousin Eli Uley-Varn, Mark and Jordan's adopted son, and Ava Lynch, Phil's adopted daughter. It's already amazing and I promise you'll love it!**

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai, you're truly amazing!**

* * *

Sweet Dreams, Sleeping Beauty

* * *

4 July 2041

With a final glance at the destruction inflicted upon my room, I followed the two person demolition crew out. I made sure my door was shut tight so my parents wouldn't see the state I was leaving my room in.

I had gone into work today only to be sent straight home by my father telling me to take the day off and enjoy myself. Returning home, I found Beth and Sabrina already hard at work in an effort to tear my room apart, claiming they were merely searching for an ensemble that they could both agree on for me to wear today.

So for the last three hours they have gradually rummaged through my entire wardrobe. It's taken that long because they had very different tastes in clothing, so more often than not each would discard the other's suggestion immediately. Beth tended to go straight for an over-the-top dramatic, seductress look that would be more appropriate for a night club in L.A. than a family gathering spent with a day at the beach. Bree was being good about trying to balance that out with simpler, more conservative looks much more in line with my regular style, but also attempting to mix it up a little so it was trendy enough to suit Beth. She was also trying to find me something that would be more daring than I was used to or would do on my own.

My opinion was irrelevant, I was denied the right to veto anything and every suggestion I made was thoroughly ignored. They insisted that this was a condition of having lost the hand during last night's poker game, like they were rubbing salt in my festering wound. Loosing had left a bitter taste in my mouth that only got worse as I was forced to watch them sort through my closet until not a single thing was left hanging in there. Then continue watching as they repeated the process with my dresser, dumping the contents of each drawer on the floor in order to make it easier for them to look through.

I ended up applying some make-up and adding a little extra curl to my flaxen waves after hearing the countless command Beth issued for me to do so. I was a helpless puppet while she was in possession of my marionette strings or at least that was what she seemed to think. The only reason I gave in was because I wanted to, and resisting seemed like a pointless endeavor. Based on our previous encounters, we weren't likely to get close enough for him to notice anyways, but it did help pass the time while I waited on her and Bree and maybe this time would be different.

Sometimes I think Bree acts more like Beth's sister than I do. They sure fight more. At one point, Beth was launching shoes at Sabrina's head like they were missiles when she took offense to some comment Bree made about her fashion sense. Then, not ten minutes later, Bree was yelling at her for being too self-involved to care about what I wanted.

It was well past noon before they came to an agreement. I liked it more than I expected to, but it wasn't exactly practical for such a cool dreary day that would only get chillier as temperatures steadily dropped this evening once the sun went down. I had a feeling that if I tried to refuse wearing it, they would take measures to disable me before physically dressing me themselves and I doubted they would let me bring a coat either.

Grudgingly accepting the pair of black shorts Beth had worn to Chloe's party, I shimmied into them. They weren't as skin-tight as I feared, but they were even shorter on me than they were on her since my legs were longer. Next, Bree handed me a strapless white shirt that wrapped snuggly around me and tied beneath my breast, forcing them up and giving me more cleavage than I thought possible. I happily grabbed the final piece off my bed, a sheer button down shirt with the sleeves rolled to my elbows, but both of them insisted I leave it unbuttoned. I didn't bother wearing any shoes and they didn't try to force me to before heading out. They had both gotten ready while they ransacked my room.

From the moment we got there I was looking for him. My eyes not stopping as they rapidly scanned the beach, lingering only when landing upon one of the massive forms of one of the local copper skinned males, but quickly moving on once determining he wasn't Levi. I didn't contemplate what I'd do once I located him, just continued what was quickly becoming a futile search. I wasn't paying attention to anything else, not that Beth had already run off or that Bree was rambling on about something to do with Melody. I didn't hear a word she said until I felt the throbbing sting from where she pinched me.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" I snapped at her, rubbing the sore spot and glaring at her.

"Why aren't you more excited to be here? I know you wanted to come even if you won't admit it," she said casually, completely ignoring my ire. I bit my lip thinking about how to answer that and curled my toes into the firmly packed wet sand.

"Because…," I trailed off, stopping to sigh. I knew I'd have to be truthful here, she'd know if I wasn't, "because I just don't see the point of getting my hopes up when he might not even be here." She gave me an understanding look after I blurted that out.

"He will." She sounded so confident, adding, "I can—oh!"

I didn't hear the rest of what she was planning to say, because Melody had just swooped in out of no where. I gasped; trying once or twice before I succeeded in pulling in a mouthful of air after her impact had knocked it loose. It was like getting smacked with a two by four and now she had a smothering arm locked around my neck with the other around Bree's. I couldn't believe the heat coming off of her body. I thought I'd just imagined in the night before, but I guess I hadn't.

"Hi guys!" Her cheerful voice chimed, like bells ringing in my ears. She let go, stepping back with her sleek hair swinging a bit before settling into dark curtains framing the sides of her face as she granted us an endearing smile that exposed just a glimpse of her pearly whites, before merrily exclaiming, "you came!"

"As if I had a choice," I grumbled, but laughed seeing how that just made the devilish gleam in her eyes glow brighter.

"Come on. You have to meet my friend Jesse," grabbing each of our wrists lightning fast and enthusiastically dragging us down to the shoreline where a pretty girl our age was laughing as she lightly splashed a madly giggling younger girl.

Meeting up with them, Melody introduced us and as I'd guessed, the older one was Jesse. She gave us a huge friendly smile hello. Her demeanor was open and playful, emphasized by her bouncy ponytail and rolled up jeans soaked through in places from her previous activity. It helped me relax, but I was grateful Bree and even Melody were with me because I had no idea what to talk about right now.

The younger girl turned out to be her eldest niece, Sarah, and I watched as the adorable child smiled shyly at us from where she was standing partially hidden behind her Aunt's back. I could see the resemblance between them, especially in the smile. She was clutching Jesse's shirt and didn't say a word at first when we got there. I could relate. She went back to the water's edge after a minute or two, stomping on the foamy surf of the retreating waves.

"So… you're interested in getting to know some of the people around here, huh?" Jesse questioned teasingly after Melody told her she was showing us around since we didn't know anyone else.

"No!" I denied vehemently, my voice coming out several octaves too high and shaking my head forcefully. Then groaned, squeezing my eyes tightly shut and blushing immediately when I realized she had only been joking, but I had been too busy looking for Levi again to pick up on that before utterly embarrassing myself.

"Sure," Jesse chuckled, grinning mischievously and I heard Bree snort in accord from beside me.

"We actually had to drag her here… she lost a bet," Bree informed her proudly, thoroughly enjoying my discomfort considering the circumstances which brought me here. I could tell she was hoping to draw a retort from me with that remark and I was eager to oblige her.

"Only because Melody cheated," I declared indignantly, shooting Melody a menacing glare that only added to her amusement until her charming laughter rang out loudly.

"Did you actually see her cheat?" Jesse inquired thoughtfully, looking over the two of us. Damn. She had me there and I was forced to reluctantly shake my head. "Then you don't know if she really did, do you? Although, I'm inclined to agree with you in this case," she finished with a grin, watching Melody then winking at me.

"Hey now, you're not supposed to gang up on me. Oh, I think Annie just got here—you guys have to meet her," Melody said excitedly, changing subjects so fast it was hard to keep up. "Be right back!" She called back to us, already rushing away.

"You're having fun though, right?" I registered a new voice ask timidly as I watched Melody's progress. I glanced back to see Sarah peeking up at me again from a little behind Jesse, waiting for an answer.

"Yea," I told her truthfully and grinned when she smiled sweetly.

"Who's that?" I heard Bree ask, staring in the direction Melody had just run off in.

"Krys!" Sarah yelled running towards the man Bree had asked about.

He was only a couple feet away and examining him, I suspected he was the smallest guy I'd seen here all day and that wasn't saying much as I eyed his broad chest. I saw him scoop Sarah up and toss in the air then cuddling her against him for a second before setting her down and pulling a fluffy lilac towel from around his neck.

"Where have you been?" She asked grabbing his shoulder with one hand and holding out her left leg, but he just helped dry her legs off then wrapped the towel around her shoulders before answering.

"I came with Jared and Kim. We picked up Brady and Annie on the way," he said smiling warmly and tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"Are they related?" Bree asked Jesse curiously.

"No, he's just a good family friend," she answered casually.

"They seem really close," I commented, hoping she'd elaborate a little.

"Yea… we're a close community." She said shrugging. It seemed like she was carefully picking her words.

"Weird," Bree muttered.

Weird wasn't really the word I would have used to me it was more interesting, fascinating to watch. They looked completely engrossed in one another, oblivious to the rest of the world. I was reminded of the last party I had been to here and seeing Melody and Taylor together or the other young couple I watched sitting near the fire, although Sarah was just a child and Krys definitely wasn't, so I couldn't really understand why this reminded me of that.

I decided to think about it more later when I watched Sarah whisper something to Krys and him answer too quietly for us to hear, joining us after that with him carrying her and her clinging to his neck. Just as they got to us, I noticed a cool damp breeze washed over me, making a violent shutter rack through me. It blew in off the ocean, and the salty air was abrasive. The sensation sent a series of smaller jerks down my frame and I pulled my arms in tight to suppress them.

We stood around talking for a few more minutes, but I let Bree do all the talking. I felt too awkward and was too distracted to even try. It was getting colder out now that the sun was setting and I still didn't see Levi anywhere. Pretty soon it would be too dark to see him unless I got lucky like last time and he stepped into the firelight somewhere. Bree noticed I was shivering and sent an apologetic glance my way, snug in her own sweatshirt and jeans.

"I think we're going to sit by the fire for a bit. Will you send Mel that way if she shows back up?" Bree asked Jesse.

She agreed and after saying goodbye, we headed towards one of the three fires blazing an eerie bluish glow against the fading day and lighting the darkening sky. The site was empty. As we ambled towards it, I could feel when we were close enough to penetrate the outer shell of warm air projected from the burning fire, like being enfolded in a bubble. My icy skin gladly absorbed the radiating heat and thawing readily. I sat in the almost dry sand against the flame-warmed driftwood.

We had barely settled in before Melody and Annabelle showed up. Taylor's sister, like so many others around here, was unnaturally beautiful. I couldn't help feeling intimidated by her, regardless of her funny, outgoing personality. Not too much time had past when we heard someone mention something about the kids getting into the fireworks a little ways from us.

"I'd better go find Beth and make sure she doesn't hurt herself," I told the others with a tired sigh.

"Stay. I'll go," Bree told me, using my shoulder to jump up and moving off before I could stop her.

"I'll help you find her," Annie offered jogging after her.

Melody and I sat in companionable silence for a while after that, both staring at the fire's hypnotic flames as the swirling yellows, blues, and greens morphed in an ever changing sea of shapes and patterns. The sounds from the party and ocean were muted by the snapping and crackling before us.

"Are you mad at me for making you come here?" Melody eventually asked, breaking the fire's spell.

"No, actually I'm glad I came."

"Can I ask why you didn't want to?" She inquired, tilting her head as she studied me and absentmindedly grabbing a handful of sand then letting it pour from her fist to form a pile in front of her crossed legs.

"To be honest, I was a little scared to," I said watching the grains of sand slowly leak from her closed hand, deciding to admit a partial truth to the girl I was rapidly growing to trust. "I'm not really good around strangers… never know what to say. I was worried I'd end up making a fool out of myself."

"You shouldn't be. Everyone here loves ya," she said sweetly.

I pulled my legs up to wrap my arms around them as I thought about that. It didn't make any sense, these people knew nothing about me and I hadn't even met most of them. I wanted to ask her about that, but before I could, we were joined by two others. Taylor and Levi.

Levi. I hadn't heard him approach and only caught a glimpse of his face just before he sat down, but it had been enough to know for sure it was him. I turned my head purposely more to the right, away from him. My face was glowing, you could fry an egg on it, and I desperately did not want him seeing it like that. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me, painfully tense and begging for relief, but I didn't release them, physically incapable of it at the moment. I could feel tiny gusts occurring at regular intervals and I envied him his unaltered breathing when my own was so labored, but I was afraid anything more substantial would shatter the moment. It had an unreal quality, easily disturbed, like a mirrored surface of a calm lake.

Melody was animatedly waving to draw his attention to her and the answering smile she gave him was enough to prompt my insatiable curiosity to look at him.

It was like some unseen force directed him to look at me as well because his head swiveled around to meet my stare a moment later. I was mesmerized by the look on his face. I can honestly say I never expected anyone to look at me with such passionate intensity, like I was the only person in the world he saw, and for a moment, I truly believed I was while his deep, endless eyes stared directly into my soul.

He was even more gorgeous up close. His carefully molded features selected and arranged to perfection. I longed to reach over and kiss his pouty pink lips, to taste his extra thick bottom lip. No sooner than I realized the direction my thoughts were taking, I was as embarrassed as I would have been if I'd said them out loud. The fiery heat scalding my cheeks alerted me to the presence of a telling blush and I hurriedly hid my face, groaning at its inconvenience and groaning again when I heard a male's amused chuckles. Thankfully Levi was looking away when I finally reemerged.

Melody was gently teasing me for a while after that and it actually helped me regain control of my emotions so I didn't pounce on her brother right then and there as a little voice in the back of my head was still urging me to.

I was touched by his kindness when he handed me a freshly roasted hotdog minutes later and couldn't help smiling in awe over this guy's amazing generosity, even more so when he made one for Bree too a little later when she got back. He didn't have to do that for either of us, but the fact that he had, especially making another for my best friend after he had finished eating was incredible. That alone would have had me falling for him if I wasn't already.

They were good too. I don't usually eat hotdogs, my mom has a thing about us only eating healthy food and I had never really liked them anyways, but this was delicious.

Melody spent most of the night pointing out who people were, even telling funny anecdotes about most of them. I barely heard most of what she said. I tried to ask intelligent questions about them, but usually just ended up asking her to repeat whatever it was she'd just said, not getting much more out of hearing it the second time than I had the first, only one thing really stood out.

"_Those_ are your parents?!" Bree had exclaimed and I'd looked at where she was pointing, instantly understanding her disbelief. They didn't really look any older than Melody or Levi. Note to self, his family ages _extremely_ well.

It felt like I was on display all night, with the crowd parading by to judge me. I wanted to believe I was being paranoid and I wish I could say I was, but anytime I looked around I found someone eyeing me or more accurately, staring at the pair of us. I did my best to ignore it and being so close to him did, for the most part, help me forget.

The crack of the first luminous red starburst startled me more than I expected it to. I've always hated loud noises, particularly the unexpected kind. They never failed to send my heart into a full on frenzy as it lodged itself in my throat. And tonight, each successive explosive bang was just as bad as the first.

The loudest one yet brought me in direct contact with Levi. When had we even shifted closer, I wondered? Then I felt him press more firmly against me. The touch of his skin was enough to drown out everything else. I barely heard the detonating pops over the thunderous roaring of my own heart beating and the rush of my pumping blood. His skin was remarkably hot, even more than his sister's, but comforting. It felt like home and for the first time all night I truly relaxed, even when every gentle caress made me feel more alive than I ever had in my life.

I was exhausted after the twinkling display of burning colors, drained after spending so much time this evening tense and hyperaware, but no one else was and there was absolutely no way I was leaving Levi's side before I absolutely had to. My mind was divided, a little more than half focused on every titillating brush of his skin on mine and the soothing heat I felt coming off of him, the remainder on the conversations around me. I had no concept of time in my dazed state, only feelings.

Eventually I moved, intending to slide further under the covers when I noticed the hardness of the surface beneath me, but hot and as smooth as satin. That was not what I remembered my bed feeling like. I froze, not moving an inch, not even to breath. There weren't any covers on me, just a burning band around my waist holding me in place and another heated object that was large and heavy resting on my upper thigh. And there was a rhythmic thumping in my ear. No. This can't be right. It was just a dream; that didn't really happen I tried to convince myself.

I'd been so tired when I got home I couldn't remember getting there or going to bed, that's all. And it'd just been a dream. An amazing dream, sure, vivid and realistic with surround sound even, but just a dream. I dreamt that I'd slept in Levi's arms, even waking up at one point with my legs cold and crawled in his lap where it was so warm. I hadn't seen the harm in doing that since it was just a dream after all.

Oh shit. In need of oxygen I sucked in a small bit of air only to have the scent of orange and pine fill my nose. A scent I'd notice at the fire last night and knew I'd never forget again because it was his. My eyes shot open and were greeted with the harsh, unforgiving, and unwelcome light of day, not to mention the sandy beach and immense ocean. It was real. I had slept on the beach and was currently lying on top of the perfect form of Levi.

I debated pretending it was still a dream, even relaxing and closing my eyes again. Sniffing deeply and savoring his soothing scent while I listened to his strong heartbeat, the most amazing sound I'd ever heard. He was so warm and his body fit my contours perfectly, like I was supposed to be here. I wanted to wake up like this everyday.

Then I wondered what he would think if he woke up and found me like this. Would he be angry or even freak and run again? I didn't think I could take it if that happened. I sighed in regret, about to ease off of him and head home. Home. My parents. I am so completely screwed, I thought groaning as I leapt up, my mind spinning wildly in total chaos as I tried to figure out how this happened.

I spared a final glance back at Levi; thankful I hadn't woken him and had managed to escape that mortifying experience, doubly so after looking around to see my position had gone unnoticed by everyone. I couldn't think about him any more right now, I didn't have time to. I needed to concentrate on getting home.

"Fuck! Sabrina, wake up, right now," I demanded, spotting her asleep nearby.

"What?" She mumbled sleepily, sitting up to stretch her arms and yawn.

"My parents are going to positively murder us… they must be freaking out by now. We have to get home," and away from here before Levi wakes up, I added silently, searching and finding Beth.

"Hey, its okay… lets just get back so we can explain," Bree said as I roughly shook Beth awake.

"Its morning, we have to get home," I told her sounding panicked and she was instantly alert and trying to find her shoes.

"Would it help if I went with you to explain?" I heard Taylor offer. I hadn't meant to wake them up, but I guess with all my shouting it had been inevitable.

"No. Thanks, but we'll be fine," I told him, not bothering to look at him. It was sweet to ask, but having a cop show up with us might actually make things worse.

I took off for my car after that, positive the other two were following. I couldn't stop thinking about Levi the whole way home, wishing I'd gotten a few more minutes with him or that he'd been as aware of things as I was and as eager to repeat them.

"Do you want me to drop you off at your place," I asked Bree halfway home.

"If you guys get yelled at, then I will too the next time your parents see me… might as well save them the trouble of going through the lecture twice," Bree snorted in reply and I couldn't help but agree with her assessment. "Besides, I should have woken you up right away after I found Beth, but you just looked too comfortable," she said wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"Not now, Sabrina."

We pulled up to see mom getting out of the charcoal grey Yukon. She looked at us in the car then up at the house for a split second before whipping back to face us and furiously slamming the car door shut with a resounding bang. I winced, climbing out of my own car ready face her wrath and heard Beth and Bree join me, each flanking one of my sides.

"You've been out all night." Mom accused. She wasn't asking, just stating a fact she was suddenly very aware of.

"I am so sorry Mom! It was an—," I began, rushing to explain from the end of the driveway, not moving towards her any.

"It was my fault." Beth broke in determinedly.

"Beth, what—ah!" I hissed at her only to have her grab and squeeze my arm painfully.

"I lied to Kris. I, uh… told her I called and let you guys know we were sleeping there since everyone else was and that you guys were okay with it." She explained to mom, obviously improving as she went.

"No she didn't, Mom," I admitted with a sigh, ignoring the increased pressure on my arm. Turning to Beth and gratefully saying, "Beth, thanks, but really its fine… this was my fault."

"Fine! I was trying to help in case you missed that… considering you probably wouldn't have even gone if it wasn't for me," she said exasperatedly throwing her arms up and stomping her foot as she said it.

"You're lucky your father doesn't know about this." Mom said blandly, drawing our attention again, to find her watching our interaction with interest.

"Umm, why doesn't he?" I asked hesitantly.

"There was a flood in the storage room from all the rain we've been having. Nathan noticed it when he was locking up last night and your dad and I spent the night at the store moving everything out of there and assessing the damage." I noticed then how tired and dirty she looked.

"Is everything going to be okay?" The store was doing great, but it could only absorb so much loss and this didn't sound good.

"Yea, eventually… I think it's going to cost us though," she explained wearily, rubbing her face. "Look, you've never done this before and it's over now so I'm going to let you girls slide this time. Just please, don't do it again."

"Seriously?" Beth asked. I heard Bree hiss to shut up before smacking her.

"Yes. But the only reason I am is because you got lucky and I didn't spend the whole night worrying about you and I'm too exhausted to yell at you about it right now. Plus I have to get back to the store… I was just coming back to let you know what happened and tell you not to come in today. We have guys coming in to look at it and I don't want you getting hurt or in there way," she explained and then drove off again.

Well that definitely didn't go as expected.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	13. Hard Time in the Slammer

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai, you're truly amazing!**

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Hard Time in the Slammer

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16 August 2041

The morning after the Fourth bonfire, Krista remained at home, not leaving the house the entire day. The same was true of Beth and Sabrina, so I assumed they were grounded. I'd anxiously watched as Krista worriedly paced around her bedroom all morning from my perch in the tree behind her house. At least until she drew the dark green curtains closed, the thick material eliminating any hope I had of seeing into her window.

I'd tried to write Krista a letter after that, to apologize, bringing a notebook and a couple ballpoint pens with me when I returned after dinner. Actually, it'd been more like twenty letters, but they never got very far without me ending up confessing everything about being a wolf and how I thought of her every minute of everyday. My worst attempt had included telling her about sitting outside her window every night and that wasn't likely to go over very well. My head was pounding, worse than I bet a sledgehammer hitting it would feel, from where I'd spent hours yanking on my hair when my inadequacy with words thwarted every effort I made. Eventually, I'd just given up, planning to try again once I knew more about the situation or was just trying to write a regular note instead.

She went to the beach the next day, now that the weather had finally cleared up to reveal sunny blue skies, and didn't look as upset as the day before, so I took that to imply she wasn't in trouble after all. I kept out of sight mostly and I think she only saw me once, because I was uncertain how she would react to seeing me after the other night, so I did my best to keep some distance between us.

I also found out that day about the water damage at her parent's store. Krys brought Sarah and Sammy there later in the afternoon and told me about David and Jared's company being contracted to make the repairs. He assured me that David had said they weren't as bad as they first seemed and would only take a few days to fix, so the stored could reopen soon.

That evening she had her window tightly closed again, blocking out all incoming light for several hours. Krista was alone in the house this time so I didn't know what she could possibly be doing in there that would require her to take such precautions against being seen or found out. Whatever it was, I could smell the fluctuations in her scent as she did it and it had me intrigued beyond belief.

It quickly became a daily ritual, where she spent about two hours alone in her room every night without fail since the bonfire. I even risked getting closer to her house once, scaling up the side of her house like Spiderman, trying to unlock the mystery, but was unable to discover the key that would unleash the hidden secret.

During the day she continued visiting the beach, except Mondays and Fridays when she worked until taking Beth to dance class and skipped going to the beach altogether. On the first Sunday after the bonfire, I spent the whole day with Eli, not vanishing once, even when I knew she was staring at me. And since then, I've quit hiding from her altogether; unabashedly staring at her while she soaked up all the golden rays available.

The following Monday she was back at the store, working until almost three before leaving. It was then that I remembered having made arrangements to take Chloe and Ava to dance class and that I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it on time to pick them up. Racing home I jumped in my car and headed over to their place. Phil made me promise not to drive too fast while I had them and to make sure they always wore their seatbelts. I grinned throughout the entire lecture, but assured him I would nonetheless.

I only arrived a few minutes before Krista and Beth got there. I was talking to Tara when they walked in and she looked a bit flustered to see me standing there. She watched us for a moment and I assumed she was waiting to speak with Tara, so I quickly excused myself and went over to watch Chloe and Ava through the one-way viewing glass. The two of them talked for a little while before she astonished me by joining me at the window to watch. We stood like that for a while, each shooting the other covert looks until the tension built to such a degree that it actually began acting as an impenetrable barrier, forcing us farther apart and I left.

I waited in my car for her to leave as well then followed, letting the invisible link guide me to her like a retractable leash used for walking your pet dog. That was exactly what I felt like too. A pet, fully devoted to its master, but unable to tell him, or in this case her, so I displayed my love and affection by dutifully sticking close and never straying far or for long. She was parked in a remote lot, hunched down in her seat, but the vacant setting prohibited me from getting close enough to see what she was up to so I contented myself with watching from a distance as I was so often forced to.

Each class after that we stood closer and closer, for longer and longer until this last week when we ended up leaning against each other for almost a full hour of the two hour class. I usually still left first, once the intensity got too much for me and I was unable to think of a better alternative, but I was definitely making progress. I even made her laugh when I left the small waiting area yesterday.

I had turned back to see her again prior to exiting and found that she had turned as well to watch me. I grinned at her, trying to smoothly glide backwards and out without breaking eye contact, but managed to back into an end table residing beside the chairs the studio had set up for bored parents, scattering the pile of magazines stacked on top so that they littered the burgundy carpeted floor in a colorful display of glossy pages instead. Also dislodging the plastic decorative plant and reading lamp when I bent to clean up my mess, but fortunately I caught the matching burgundy ceramic base of the lamp before it hit the ground and broke.

She'd giggled adorably and smiled her most endearing smile, making her forest inspired eyes sparkling merrily, before coming over to help me pick up the fallen objects. Our hands collided over the final copy of Vogue, like it was rehearsed, and we were close enough that I saw the speedy throbbing pulse in her neck cease for an instant before swiftly picking back up and enhancing her perpetual blush. I didn't break the connection until she began chewing on her bottom lip looking unsure of herself, like she was debating something vital, deciding to make it easier on her because I hated doing anything to cause her any measure of uncertainty, I stood abruptly and left.

I also started visiting Local Naturals while she was working after the Fourth of July bonfire, doing the grocery shopping for my house and Tay's. Not wanting to go alone, I'd make whoever was available go with or accompany anyone already planning a trip, which typically consisted of Claire or Quil. This way I managed to go in to see her at least twice a week, following her around practically the entire time or spending far too much time making selections, because occasionally, if I waited long enough, she would come over and hand pick whatever I was looking at for me.

The first time I went I dragged Solace with me, but hastily decided against doing that again; he had way too much fun at my expense, although I take partial blame for that considering I picked a bad day and ended up making him late for family night at the Ateara's. He'd joked the entire time about how ridiculous we were being, chasing after one another like we were playing hide and seek.

At one point Solace signed, 'words are overrated, just kiss her and she'll get the message that you're interested.'

I'd shoved him for that and he'd laughingly fallen into a display at the end of aisle four, causing one of the workers to come over and kindly ask us to leave. Hanging my head in embarrassment, I was following Solace out when Krista ran up and handed me a bag of oranges, smiling that wonderful smile that left me a simpering puddle on the floor. She'd flushed the most striking shade of red yet; it went clear down her neck, covering her shoulders and upper chest before disappearing beneath the collar of her lime green tube top, then rushing away. I stared longingly after her until Solace dragging me out, toting the bag of precious juicy fruit against my chest and I watched his chest tremble as he boisterously laughed the whole way to my house where he dropped me off.

'So can I have one?' He'd signed, once pulling into my driveway, then reached over to take one and I responded by snarling and snapping my fangs at his hand. That set off another round of hysterical laughter that I remember glaring at as he drove away heading off to enjoy the perks of his own budding relationship with Maddox.

I never took Mel or Tay because I knew they would go up and talk to her, forcing me to either wander off and watch jealously from afar or stand awkwardly at their side without actually being able to participate in the conversation myself.

My favorite companion by far was Jordan. The summer class he taught was on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so he would choose to either go in later on Tuesday or Thursday morning each week and Eli would accompany us. He never once gave any indication that I was driving him nuts weaving around the store, taking well over twice as long as strictly necessary. He also never mentioned when I bought too much of something or forgot something else entirely, just discreetly put it back or grabbed it himself when I wasn't looking. The only hint I ever saw from him was a small loving smile as we put everything away at my house or his cabin.

Today was a Saturday and her parents were out of town this weekend, having left early yesterday. Melody had informed me that it was their anniversary and that they had planned a little getaway in Seattle to celebrate. They were leaving Nathan, a kindly older guy that practically lived there considering I saw him every time I visited, in charge, but Krista was supposed to go in to help out; make sure they weren't short staffed at all and contact her parents if any problems arose.

As usual, I'd come straight back to her place after finishing breakfast, finding that she'd just finished her own and was trying to leave for work, but her car wouldn't start. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know a whole lot about cars myself, not bothering to learn with so many able mechanics around the rez that were more than willing to help me out if I ever needed anything. Besides, it wasn't like I could randomly show up in her driveway offering some help without it looking more than a little suspicious.

Instead, I watched her kick the front tire in frustration then head back inside, the barely perceptible movement of her lips indicating that she was grumbling as she went. It was such an adorable sight that I couldn't help grinning. A few minutes later, she opened the white garage door where I saw her wheel out an old jade green bicycle with a narrow black leather seat and off-white grips on the handlebars before shutting the door again.

The bike didn't look like it had been ridden in years; the tires were a little flat and I could see the swirls of dust fly up as she wiped off the seat. She climbed on anyways, hiking up the lone pale green flowered skirt, the one I couldn't believe she hadn't changed out of, just enough to be able to step over the center bar and to have room to keep her knees spread and turn the pedals. After a wobbly start, that gradually smoothed out by the time she reached the end of her street, she rode off to work.

I followed close behind, closer than usual in case the need arose to interfere. She really didn't look all that safe or comfortable perched upon the two-wheeled death contraption and she wasn't wearing a helmet. I could just imagine the extra material of her loose, flowing skirt getting tangled up in the spokes on the spinning wheels causing her to crash. It took her almost three times as long to get to work using this mode of transportation, a good fifteen minutes, and my nerves were fried by the time we got there. My heart pounding unbelievably fast whenever a car got near her, frightened it might hit her. Worse had been when it sputtered, skipping a beat entirely, every time she came to a screeching halt at one of the intersections in town, worried that she wouldn't be able to stop, ending up in the street where she would get run down by the oncoming traffic.

I didn't breathe easy again until after she locked the bike to a rack outside and the door had closed behind her after she went into the store. My relief was short lived. In true Forks style it began raining not twenty minutes later. The dark stormy clouds had rolled in the night before then lingered, threatening a tremendous downpour throughout the night, but managing to hold off letting loose buckets until now. From the looks of things, this promised to last all day, possibly well into the night as well. There was no way I could take watching her bike home in this.

That was when I got the brilliant idea to offer her a ride home. Running back to La Push to get my blue sports car, I was drenched by the time I got there. I quickly changed and planned out how I should do this while I drove back. Surveying the area, I decided the best method would be to wait on the street next to the building. There were houses on the other side and on both sides starting just behind the store, but the road wasn't frequented all that often and you couldn't see it from the store unless you were in the parking lot, so I was hoping to go unnoticed. That way when she leaves, I could pull up and it would look like I just happened to see her getting on her bike in the rain as I was driving by. I was banking on the fact that she wouldn't have any qualms accepting a ride from me since she and Melody had gotten so close and we saw each other all the time. I also figured it would be easy enough to gesture what my intentions were and for her to get the message.

She was staying longer than usual, which I should have expected. I had waited over five hours already. I spent most of them staring, completely focused on waiting to see her walking across the parking lot to where the bike rack was located. Occasionally I'd attempt to compose a mental letter, but they always sounded stupid or insufficient. They merely pointed out how lacking I was when it came to having any real substantial knowledge about her.

It was going on the seventh hour now and I didn't even notice when a car pulled up behind me and it wasn't until I saw a flash of movement in my peripheral vision that I realized a man was standing outside my window. I stared at him in surprised confusion for a minute before I understood he was a cop, one I hadn't seen before and an angry one at that. He was saying something, but his lips were barely moving so I didn't have a clue what. It dawned on me then that I should probably roll down my window, something I hadn't thought of sooner in my stunned state, but I noticed his police baton signaling me to step out of the car before I could.

The rain was coming down harder now and I was pelted with the freezing drops as I stood up, but it was refreshing and revitalizing after sitting in the stuffy car for so long. He looked me over, shocked, and I could tell my size scared him, but he quickly masked his fear and gave me a nasty, sneering smirk. I knew right away this wasn't going to go well. I closed the door behind me when he started talking again and slide my keys in my back pocket before raising my hands with the intension of trying to let him know I was deaf and did not understand a word of what he was saying.

My hands didn't even make it up to be level with my chest before he had slapped a set of cuffs on me. I looked down at them bewildered, not having been prepared for that to happen or believed he could move that fast. Glancing back up, I found a smug grin plastered to his ruddy, bloated face. His pudgy fingers reached out clasp my arm and I saw a flash of fear in his eyes again at the contact, but it was brief, fleeting when I didn't resist his efforts to pull me with him.

I was slightly amused seeing the handcuffs locked around my wrists as I climbed into the backseat of the official vehicle, like they could actually restrain me. It would be so easy to snap the chain, twist my arm free of his hold, and take off into the woods, disappearing before he ever had a chance of stopping me. I didn't though. Determined instead to just play along and have Taylor sort things out when we reached the police station since I knew he was working today. I even smiled when he turned on the red and blue flashing lights and took off speeding to get there.

Any humor I previously felt about my situation quickly fled with the realization that Taylor wasn't actually there when I arrived, leaving me to follow the ignorant brute as he swaggered in to the reddish-brown brick building. No one else I knew was there either to help get me out of this mess right away as I hoped, so that I would be able to get back before Krista got done with work and still give her a ride home.

It was an older station, one that didn't see a lot of action, mostly lost hikers or animal attacks that didn't even use the station, so when Charlie Swan had been the Police Chief, he had never really seen the point of re-outfitting and modernizing the place and neither had the new Chief, Jim Green. As a result, I still had to use the ink that stained your skin for a couple days to get fingerprinted.

Next up was the mug shot, something I honestly never thought I would find myself posing for. I also noticed my new friend looked entirely too pleased with himself while taking the picture. Once that humiliation was complete, he wasted no time walking me straight past the desk area and into a cozy little jail cell saying some other unheard thing along the way.

He had confiscated my wallet and I watched as he went through it, pulling out my ID to fill out the paperwork, but the phone rang and he got caught up in conversation with whoever he was talking to. So I waited, staring at the dingy walls, their former yellowish colored paint peeling to reveal the grey concrete beneath. After some unknown time past I began pacing, like a wild animal, a tiger or leopard probably, recently captured and desperate for a chance to escape. I hated the confined feeling being forcefully cooped up gave me and breathing the stale dank air. I didn't understand how Tay could stand working in a place like this. I ended up back at the bars, leaning against my cage, deceptively calm, as I studied my captor waiting to pounce.

I smelled his approach long before he entered the plain dreary building. Gripping the dark rusty metal of the round columns harder, to the point my knuckles turned white, I raised my head from its resting spot between two of them to watch the door. Taylor entered several minutes later, glancing around in confusion with his brow furrowed before he caught sight of me. His eyes widened in surprise as soon as he saw me standing on the opposite side of the cold iron bars. Disbelief colored his expression and it took a while before his eyelids closed and reopened, immediately blinking several more times in rapid succession after the first. He even reached up to rub his eyes before refocusing on me.

Once he was satisfied that it was in fact me and I was indeed locked in one of the two jail cells residing in the Forks Police Department, he broke out laughing. He doubled over, one hand wrapped securely across his stomach and the other gripping a desk to hold himself up as he laughed hysterically. He looked up only to break out laughing again, not once, but twice.

I waited, obviously, because what else could I do, until he finished. When he finally stood up, he pulled out his cell phone and before I realized what he had in mind, he held it up and snapped a picture. He was still giggling when he put it back in his pocket and walked towards me.

'Sorry, but I just have to show this to Mel. So… what happened?' Taylor signed, walking over to me and wearing a goofy, lopsided grin. In that case I really hope he never gets his hands on a copy of the mug shots.

'I was waiting for Krista to get off work so I could give her a ride home,' I signed, explaining.

'How did you end up in here then?' He signed with a confused expression.

'I'm not really sure,' I admitted, then added, 'that guy,' pausing to point angrily at the man nervously watching our exchange before continuing, 'didn't exactly make an effort to talk to me. I hoped you could fix this misunderstanding.'

'Let me get you out of there, then you can tell me everything,' Taylor signed, suddenly serious and in full police interrogation mode.

He started to unlock the cell, but my persecutor stopped him. They started arguing and Tay looked furious. I had no idea what was going on since he was too caught up in their disagreement to sign for me, but whatever the guy said did not sit well with Taylor.

I could see that he was seething, everything about his posture declared it from the clenched fists, suppressing the shaking in his arms, and rapid breathing to the touch of red splashed high across his cheekbones. The other guy had backed far away, cowering, pressed as flat against the wall as he could get his robust body, but still arguing or possibly defending his actions to the irate figure before him.

'What did he say?' I asked, raising my left eyebrow, curious to see what that was all about when Tay finally turned back to face me.

'That,' he motioned over his shoulder with a sour look on his face, 'said you refused to cooperate and tried to attack him… among other things. I need you to tell me what really happened,' he signed once getting himself under control a little more.

I explained the encounter in detail, not leaving anything out including where I was and what I had planned. He even gave me a small smile at finding out about what I had intended to do with Krista.

'Did he say what he wanted in the first place?' I asked at the conclusion of my confession.

'Yes, I guess someone that lives in one of the houses on that street called in after seeing you sitting there for a couple hours… way to go, Levi,' he signed shaking his head a little. Maybe I should have thought about how a shiny, bright blue sports car wasn't the best for covert, stealth operations beforehand.

Taylor either translated what I said to the other guy or told him something, but he lividly stomped away and out of the building after Tay got through speaking to him. I was finally released after that and he immediately hugged me, wrapping his arms tightly around my waist and holding on for at least a minute. It made me question what exactly the guy had said to affect him this much. He was always affectionate towards his family and friends; I was included in both categories, but I hadn't been expecting it right now.

I still breathed a welcome sigh of relief as I followed Tay over to his desk and sat in front of it. I felt like a naughty child that had been sent to the principal's office and was awaiting punishment for his misdeeds.

'So… I can't technically release you unless it's into an adult's custody since you're still a minor,' Tay signed, wincing as he watched me. 'Should I call Michael or Anna?'

'Mom,' I replied with a reluctant sigh and dropped my head against the desk, banging it painfully against the rough wooden surface, cracking it slightly. Tay patted my head while I assumed he called her to see if she could come pick me up.

'I am sorry about this, you know,' he signed when I looked up a minute later. 'Anna should be here in a couple minutes. The guy was on probation for misconduct and use of unnecessary force back at his old station in Seattle. Part of him being reinstated involved relocating to a rural town for a temporary period while taking court ordered anger management classes. It was shit like this that got him in trouble in the first place, but I promise he'll be gone after this,' Tay explained while we waited and I nodded. Honestly, I was just ready to go home and get a nice hot meal then go to bed.

Mom arrived then. She stopped in the doorway and looked at us with her head cocked and a small smile, but with her lips sucked into her mouth. Then she shook her head gently and came over to sign the required paperwork. And just like that we were out of there.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	14. Shattered Illusions

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai! You're tremendously talented and I am so grateful that you've shared your gift and that you've let me play around with your characters.**

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Shattered Illusions or When it All Fell Apart

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26 August 2041

Today is my least favorite day of the year. Right now it's precisely two AM, so the day has really only just begun, unfortunately.

I'm already counting down the minutes until it's over, 1320, wait 1319 minutes to go now.

On the bright side, if you're one of those annoyingly optimistic type people who feel the need to find one, I am now officially an adult. Yippee, hurrah, eighteen years old, I'm no longer a minor that requires a legal guardian when things like getting arrested happen—still having issues believing I just was. Can't you just feel the elation positively oozing off me like puss from a festering sore in this moment of joy?

Because if today is my birthday, that also means it has been exactly five years since Devlin was killed, five years since I watched my brother die through the collective pack mind, since I saw it happen with my father's eyes.

Thinking about it makes sleep impossible tonight, but I can't stop myself. The channel my brain is watching is jammed, suck on instant replay even, so I get to see it over and over again. Aren't I lucky? I would love to experience even just a few hours of mindless escape by sleeping away the time, but I know I'd find no peace in any dreams I'd have tonight, so it's better not to even bother trying.

Instead I'm just waiting, waiting for Melody to get home as I stare at my wall and mindlessly trace imaginary cracks on its black surface. I'd painted my walls black in a fit of depression about a month after Dev died when I still wasn't communicating with anyone. Mom and dad let me and I'd never really gotten around to repainting it and now I'm never here so I don't see the point.

Mel's out with Taylor still. He took off work over the weekend to go camping as part of his birthday present for her. Every year, with one notable exception, since we were eleven I think, he has taken her camping either the weekend before or after our birthday.

I know she'll be back before breakfast today though. Melody and I always spend the anniversary together; just the two of us. Not even Taylor joins us, although he knows he's welcome to. He respects that this is something she and I need to do with no one else involved and while we're together, mom and dad spend the day at Jordan and Mark's cabin, sending Eli over to Phil's place.

We usually spend most of the day in silence, well it's always silent for me, but I meant not communicating, crying more often than not and just being there for each other. The rest of the time is pretty much spent talking about Dev, remembering him and indulging in the hazardous "what if" game while getting as wasted and high as our wolf bodies allow us to. We, or at least I, know I do my best not to think like that the rest of the year, although I can't help it at times. It doesn't do any good to imagine a world that he was still a part of and I know how much he'd hate it if I wasted my life wishing instead of living.

And it's not that we don't talk about him the rest of the year; he's not a taboo subject or anything. It's just that this day is dedicated exclusively to him. It was cathartic to spend the day getting as emotional as we want, knowing we'd feel better afterwards. It was a way to purge the regret, guilt, and sadness that had been building up all year from our systems, so we have room for it to start building up again. We even skipped school for it.

School had started up for me last week. Mel goes to school here on the rez and they didn't start until yesterday, but she didn't go and isn't going today either; I'm a little jealous. It is my senior year, but I am not enjoying it at all. I hated being so far away from Krista for so many hours of the day.

My concentration is completely shot, I can think of nothing except her. I've gotten in trouble everyday so far at least once for zoning out while I daydreamed about her, thinking about her softly glistening amber skin. How she bowed her slender back into a perfect arch, like the ones built for the Roman aqueducts, eagerly pushing up towards the sun, its ray's meeting her like old friends greeting after a lengthy absence. Her bare skin thirstily drinking in their euphoric energy, taking on a pinkish glow that vitality nearly poured from. The mental image sent liquid fire surging through my veins and made me remember how the position thrust her perfect round breasts further out and—

Yea, it was exactly that line of thinking that kept getting me in trouble. I've always been a pretty great student, but I know my performance in the classroom this year is a pale imitation of what it has been in previous years. I've spent more time during the six days we've been in session writing notes to her than I have taking notes from the teachers. Neither of which seem like a productive use of my time, however, because no time spent away from her seems meaningful.

I wish I were with her right now or at least near her, watching her sleep, but the encounter would be tainted if I did and I don't want that. Not even Krista could keep me from thinking of Dev today and I don't to associate feeling this level of sadness with her or feel guilty having her when Dev never got the chance to find his soul mate, not anymore guilty than I already do. Sighing, I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. I'll be glad when Mel gets home.

That thought made me grin because for a while the eve before she left with Tay, I was positive that the best thing to do with my darling sister would be to gleefully strangle her.

I was following Krista, but then when am I not, when it happened. It was in the evening, the setting sun lighting the sky in an array of pinks, purples, and blues as it welcomed the approaching twilight. I was confused, and a little fearful, about where she was going, alone, as she headed towards La Push. Then just when she crossed onto our land, she turned off the main road leading to the beach, driving north instead. I figured out where she was headed pretty quickly at that point, there was only one place she could be going on this road—my house.

Sometimes I hated being right, I'd thought as I paced back and forth in the trees lining the edge of the field bordering our property. Taking out my aggression with each stomp of my foot, I decimated a path through the undergrowth by crushing leaves and flowers, squishing the muddy wet moss, and kicking roots, branches, and small trees with enough force to unearth them. I didn't like standing there, the floral scents of the meadow completed with hers and that irritated me, enough to make my skin quiver and the edges of my form blur.

This was ridiculous, and more to the point, I looked ridiculous. Besides that I was hungry, starving in fact. It was past dinner time, but Krista hadn't eaten before leaving so I hadn't made it home to have dinner yet and it was going on seven hours since my last meal. Way too long if you ask me.

Fed up with myself, I sauntered over to the side of the house and sprung through my open bedroom window with the ease and precision of a frog hopping to a new lily pad. I waited until her aroma got stronger and was unexpectedly rewarded when it was only a minute later. She was moving just outside my tightly sealed door. I waited another moment for her smell to change again, indicating she had entered the restroom across the hall from me before opening my door then marching down the hall.

Melody was waiting for me, wringing her hands, but grinning openly with a devious glint in her eye that would have made Shakespeare proud to cast her in the role of Puck. I stalked slowly towards her, creeping like a snail, intent to ask what she was on about, but she backed up moving around the corner of the faded blue couch giggling with her hands up pretending to ward me off, I followed her progress.

'Explain,' I signed, narrowing my eyes on my target as I glided around the arm as well, moving between the couch and coffee table now.

'We're having a girl's night,' she signed quickly, still laughing and trying not to trip as she stepped over their haphazardly discarded shoes currently obstructing her path as she rounded the other arm. I took note of them so I wouldn't be hindered by their progress either.

'Here?' I signed, arching a single eyebrow up in question.

'I invited her over to watch a movie.' She tried to adopt an innocent look when she signed that, but ruined it by snorting and chuckling.

Carefully stepping to the side myself, I realized this had turned into a playful game of cat and mouse, one I was determined to win. I smiled at her as I continued and watched as her eyes rounded in surprise then asked, 'and I suppose it was last minute, so you didn't have time to ask if I minded?'

A quick nod and dazzling smile were her answer.

I made my move, striking then. Bounding over the back of the couch, I scooped her up, tossing her over my shoulder and tickling her side with my free hand. Her dangling limbs hitting and kicking me in mock struggle as her laughter shook her lithe frame. I turned, intending on throwing her onto the couch, but halted at the enchanting site of Krista watching us. She was laughing hysterically, her whole body quaking and all of her exposed flesh was flushed with mirth. She was propped against the wall, unable to stand on her own.

I felt Mel slide down my back and shove me towards the kitchen when my traitorous stomach ruined the moment by growling rebelliously and reminding me just how hungry I was. I stopped minding though because it made Krista laugh harder, even reaching up to swipe joyous tears from the corner of one of her glittering green eyes where they had leaked out during her amusement.

Thinking Krista was probably hungry too, and knowing that Mel always was, but wouldn't be able to fix something edible, I decided to make dinner for all three of us. I tried to pull out all the stops or as many as I could within a very short span of time, so I made chicken marsala with grilled bell peppers, squash, and zucchini.

I was just about to start to sautéing the chicken breasts in the mushroom, garlic, and marsala wine sauce I had whipped up when Krista came in. My back was to the door, preventing me from seeing her enter, but the prickling of my skin alerted me to her nearness. Turning towards her, she gave me a stunning smile that had me staggering as she came closer then opened the refrigerator, which happened to be located across from the stove and my current position.

She bent over slightly trying to find something on the upper middle of the four total shelves. I knew that was where we kept beverages and I assumed that was what she was searching for, but with all my shopping lately the fridge was near to bursting from being overstocked and the drinks had been pushed against the back making them impossible to locate unless you already knew where they were.

Taking a deep breath of her calming scent, detecting lilacs in her flowery bouquet, I stepped forward, pressing flush against her. I felt her relax further back into me when I extended my hand forward, dragging the tips of my fingers along her outstretched arm. I felt how it made her shutter and saw the trail of goosebumps it left on her arm, but she didn't step away, actually pressed harder against me instead. It made me nearly dizzy with ecstasy. I slide my hand between the blocks of various cheeses stacked against one side and the bag of loose, freshly picked green beans to reach a glass bottle of unsweetened iced tea, something I knew she liked.

Securing the prize, I daringly placed my other hand on the gentle swell of her hip, squeezing lightly as I maneuvered the bottle between the masses of food to pull it out. My giant hand engulfed her tiny almost cold one as I placed the bottle in it. Her hips moved, rubbing her thinly clad, round bottom enticingly against my groin and as much as I didn't want to, I stepped away, forced to, unless I wanted her to feel exactly what that did to me.

She was breathing shallowly, rapidly as she turned to look up at me. Her alluring eyes tempting me to take Solace's advice and kiss her. My own breathing was becoming rather ragged at the thought of what her mouth would taste like, of finding out if her lips were soft as they looked, of how she would react if I did. Dear god, please don't let her look down right now, I prayed, I was sure I would expire on the spot if she did because she was not going to miss my raging erection. It was impossible to get control of my thoughts.

She stepped closer, covering about half the distance between us, enough room to let the refrigerator door swing shut behind her. I was fighting to breathe to not yank her to me, then just as it closed, she jumped, startled by the sound I think, but her movement caused me to notice something out of the corner of my eye.

Turning to see what it was, I found Mel trying to sneak back out of the room from where she had been watching us. She looked guilty about getting caught for all of a second, swiftly recovering to give me an expression that was smug beyond belief after looking me over and noticing my reaction to Krista. Damn her anyways.

"Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to make sure you weren't having any problems finding it since you were taking so long," Mel explained to Krista when we didn't stop staring at her, signing as she did.

I couldn't see Krista's face, since she had moved towards Mel, leaving me clueless about what she said to that, but I saw her wave the drink at Mel before darting out of the room. Mel shot me a teasing wink then followed her out.

I finished preparing dinner and carried a plate into the other room for each of them. Krista seemed to be in a state of bewilderment when I handed it to her. She blinked several times as if emerging from a haze, surprised to suddenly find herself able to see clearly and shocked at her surroundings. It took a moment for her to notice my offering, but when she did, she took it gratefully and granted me another enthralling smile. I retreated back into the kitchen to eat myself. I was too distracted not to resemble Paul if I tried to eat around her now and that wasn't something I wanted her to see.

Remembering that night brought me a measure of peace I wasn't used to feeling. It was almost enough to help me drift off. I felt lethargic, but it was fleeting because the sickeningly sweet odor, analogous to a bowl of fruit left out on the kitchen table for several months to rot, wafting under my nose had the same affect smelling salts did on unconscious women in the days of old—it revitalized me.

My eyes burst open and I leapt from my bed, dashing past the kitchen and out the front door quick as a flick of a whip. I was frantic. Alert didn't even begin to cover my level of awareness right then. Not when the smell was accompanied by the summery scent of Melody.

No! Not today, please not today. Please don't let this be happening today, wait—EVER! This can't ever happen.

Terror seized me as possibilities flashed through my head, each more horrific than the last, paralyzing my muscles so I stood immobile in the middle of our front yard and making my heart race faster than it ever had before, eliciting a stronger response than even Krista had ever managed to produce and I honestly hadn't thought that possible prior to this moment.

My heart slowed once I acknowledged that the heinous stench was extremely diluted, merely a lingering residue tainting Mel's sunshine and also Tay's soapy clean scents. I didn't know if I should run out to meet them or wait here, letting the cool predawn rain pelt me and reduce the feverish affect this has had on my skin.

I was startled to feel my mother's hand being placed on my shoulder and I jerked away, spinning, prepared to attack before I recognized that it was her. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen as she smiled understandingly, urging me back into the house to wait for them there. I wondered if the smell or the racket I'm sure I made slamming the door open had woken her or if the trail of dried tears tracing a path down her face that the rain hadn't washed away yet meant she was already awake, having the same problem as I had sleeping today.

Turning back, I saw my father's large, defined body filling the doorway. He was gripping the edge tightly with a stance and expression that I almost feared mimicked my own of a minute ago. It scared me to think I could ever look as hopeless, terrified, and deadly at once.

Mom ushered me in once he turned to lead the way and I saw that the place where his hand had been holding the side was gone, now only a pile of sawdust on the floor below it. We didn't make it to the kitchen before they showed up, looking tired, wet, and way more bruised and banged up than they should after taking out a vamp, but otherwise fine. Well, fine if you ignored the torn, muddy clothing, Taylor's busted red lip and swollen discolored jaw, and the deep gashes of still bleeding claw marks circling Melody's upper right arm like a perverse version of the cobra bracelet armlets women wear for jewelry. They probably saw us reentering the house, but I had missed their approach.

I was at Melody's side, with my arms locked around her waist in a heartbeat, beating both mom and dad who contented themselves by hugging Taylor. I practically collapsed against her so that she was actually the one holding me up as I sobbed unabashedly into her neck. I embraced her even harder when she began lightly running her fingers through my hair and I know she was making comforting noises because I could feel how they made her chest vibrate. Eventually I noticed Tay tugging at my arms, not to pry them loose, but to get me to relax my unforgiving steel hold a little, worried I was squeezing her too tight. Peeking over her shoulder, I saw that Tay was watching us sympathetically, trying not to start crying himself.

Once our little impromptu reunion was over and I had finally released her, mom and dad quickly converged on Mel, dragging her further into the house. They headed for the kitchen where a first aide kit and towels were waiting, which I assumed they must have retrieved while I was having my little meltdown. As they headed over, I got a look at Melody's shirt and was distressed to see a rusty crimson stain had soaked through the material across her upper back. I rushed over to inspect it and bring it to mom's attention. I felt awful for keeping her from getting it looked at right away.

'It's fine… it doesn't even hurt,' Mel insisted, grinning wearily at our fussing as she signed and rolling her eyes at Tay. His tight smile let me know that it had been really bad and he was still worried, but wasn't showing it because he didn't want to upset her. She was too tough for her own good sometimes.

Dad went to get Melody a clean shirt while mom and Tay helped her peel off the sticky, blood crusted one she was wearing, after seeing her wince when trying to do it herself, revealing that the bloody gouges on her arm continued across her back, ending at the top of her left hip.

I wasn't letting her out of my sight at this point until I was sure she was okay, so I helped mom clean the dirty grit and debris out of the cuts on her back while Tay worked on her arm. It must have just happened because they were still fresh, but it was lucky they hadn't really healed yet because they were pretty bad and we probably would have had to reopen them if they had. It didn't very long and mom dressed the rapidly healing wounds once we were done.

'Care to explain what happened?' Mom signed with a small sad smile, asking for one of them to share the story as she slumped down into the chair next to dad. He had been sitting stoically, watching with vacant eyes that made me wonder if he was actually seeing anything, while we worked.

'We were, uh—,' Taylor started, blushing while his hands fumbled for a second before continuing, 'sleeping, when a pair of vamps attacked. We were distracted, so they managed to sneak up on us.' Tay looked more than a little disgruntled about the fact that they had.

'They tore right through the tent to get at us—ripped it to shreds. We got all tangled up in the mess, trying to get out without phasing so we didn't end up hurting each other before they had a chance to. That definitely gave them the advantage and they made good use of it once we were out,' Mel added, shaking her head in disbelief as she remembered it.

It made me think of Krista and what would have happened if she and I ever did get together and if that had been us. I could have killed her myself. It would be so easy to accidentally hit her in the confusion and her fragile body wouldn't be able to take it.

Or what if I couldn't stop myself and phased? Being that close would kill her or at the very least seriously maul her. I thought of Emily and realized that I wouldn't even need to be in a situation like they were just in, because it could happen anytime we were together. There was always a risk and I couldn't live with myself, knowing each time I saw her that it was entirely my fault if I ever hurt Krista, the way that Sam does with Emily.

And there were two bloodsuckers. There was no way I could have taken them both on without Krista getting hurt, killed, at some point during it. I stood up and moved away from the table as if by physically distancing myself from the reality of my life I would make my thoughts somehow less true.

'You guys are really alright though, aren't you,' mom signed a great deal slower than usual and her expression made me positive that she was afraid of the answer.

'Yea, but sometimes I swear they single us out… attack because we're wolves. It's like they come looking just for us, especially since we're so notorious in Volterra with the new council,' Tay signed in annoyance, huffing at the end of his rant and slouching back in his chair with his arms crossed.

His words slammed into me forcefully, like getting punched in the gut with a cinderblock for a fist. He was right. I mean wasn't that one of their goals for both of the Great Renesmee Wars? And why the last war happened? To eliminate us? Both of my parents almost died in the second Great Renesmee War and Dev did die in the last one, but ultimately, they failed. We were still here. So it stands to reason that it would happen again.

She would always be in danger if she were with me. I was a danger to her. I knew all the promises of happiness imprinting made and I'd wanted to so badly, but Tay's words were a revelation for me. One that sealed my fate, so now that I had, I wouldn't get to enjoy it. I had to protect her and the best way to do that was to not be with her. I felt like someone had just revealed that the elusive jackalope was nothing more than a fable, a myth, after devoting my entire life to finding one, but he'd knowingly waited until I was on my deathbed to do so.

My imprinting was like a cruel twisted joke. It was one more thing to torment me with for the rest of eternity or until I just couldn't take it anymore and the agony of endless suffering finally consumed me. Like poison creeping its way, inch by excruciating inch, through my body, withering away my insides as it journeyed to my heart. It saved my heart for last, because like I said—it's cruel. Knowing it could prolong my torture before ultimately leaving me as nothing but a hollow shell for as long as I was still in possession of one, for that is its curse.

'Levi? What is it? What's wrong?' Mel signed, staring at me in concern.

She was the only person I saw right then, the only person in the room my eyes registered. I stared at her intently, with unblinking eyes as I prepared myself for the impossible conversation ahead. She stood up and moved to come closer to me, but stopped when I stepped back, determined to maintain a minimum distance from her.

'Krista.' I signed her name slowly, carefully, with the reverence it deserves, because it was precious to me and I was about to loose it and everything it represented.

"Oh!" I saw Melody gasp. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes shone brightly from the glassy film of tears forming in them. I knew she understood then, what I was thinking, but I had to make sure she really grasped what it meant.

'I don't want her to have anything to do with this world, our world. Nothing. Not ever.' Again I signed slowly, but now with a hard, sober look to show her exactly how serious I was about this.

'You can't mean that. Come on, Levi,' she begged, alarmed by this.

'No. I—I…, I just can't risk her getting hurt. If something ever happened to her because of what we are… it would kill me. I wouldn't be able to live with it. You've got to understand, Mel—please tell you get it,' I signed earnestly, ending up begging myself.

'I do… I lost him too.' Mel reminded me frankly, but appeared resigned to my decision. This wasn't like before, however, so I had to make sure.

'Stay away from her, Mel. I mean it.' I signed significantly, almost daring her to push me or question me about the consequences if she went against me on this, but I knew she wouldn't. We were too close and she loved me too much to ever betray me like that.

'Alright,' she replied simply, nodding in agreement a little, her face impassive.

That was it. Nothing more needed to be said on the matter—ever. I stared at her a moment longer, until her blank look crumbled to reveal the profound sorrow I'd known she was feeling on my behalf, because my own was exponentially greater. But seeing hers now had me nearly staggering from the immensity of mine and I couldn't handle seeing it a moment longer when the first crystal clear drop of water escaped from her eye and slid swiftly over the contours of her cheek.

For the first time ever, I saw tears fall from my sister's eyes and I turned my back on them. I just couldn't. Not right now at least. I trusted that Taylor would be there for her right now. She would rather be comforted by him anyways, I told myself weakly as I walked into my bedroom, knowing full well that today was the one day that wasn't true and never would be.

I shut and locked the door, not acknowledging anything or anyone else before leaving the room and not planning to again anytime soon. After that, I crawled into my bed, turned over to face the wall and pulled the comforter up over my head, determined to ignore the rest of the world.

~*~ ∞ ~*~

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**Endnote: The next chapter is done and ready to be posted, but I'm holding it hostage until this chapter gets at least 25 reviews because it's a bonus chapter and parts of it were exceedingly difficult to write. This is probably one of the only times I'll beg for reviews, so if you want the bonus chapter, REVIEW! **


	15. Bonus: A Day to Remember

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me!**

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who loves the story 100 Years of Solitude: Okay, Maybe Just 5, and wished for more from that time. And who didn't… I mean honestly, how could you not fall in love with Randy and Soli?!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you yay4shangai, for being such a great beta and friend! Thank you so much for writing such a fantastic story that captured my, and so many other people's, interest enough to want to explore it further and write this. Also thank you for letting me use your amazing characters to write this and for being so supportive.**

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A Day to Remember, No Matter How Much I'd Like to Forget

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**Michael's POV**

26 August 2041

The look in Levi's eyes as I watched him walk away was hauntingly familiar. It was a site I had hoped never to see again, at least not in person. I had no choice about seeing it repeatedly in the back of my mind or viewing it in my dreams, it was part of my penance.

Dead. His eyes looked dead, their blazing spark stomped out. They were completely devoid of all signs of life, just flat, dull, empty pits of charred unseeing darkness, like the wick of a snuffed candle.

It was just like before. It didn't matter that his heart still beat and his body still functioned, because in that moment, he was gone. The thing that made him, Levi, had vanished. Disappeared like a traveling circus, there and full of life one day then gone the next with nothing left behind except an outline marking where the tent had stood.

Just like Devlin was gone and that made it so much worse seeing Levi's eyes like that now, because their resemblance was uncanny. They had always looked alike, but just then all I could see were the similarities and it reminded me how much I had failed my sons, my family.

I stared at his closed wooden door, seeing nothing of the white paint, only the memory of lifeless nearly black eyes, while I listened with half an ear to Taylor reassure Melody that he would change his mind and Anna hugged me.

I didn't look at any of them, especially Anna. Sometimes it hurt too much to look at her, knowing how I was the reason her son was dead. That it was my fault, that I should have been the one protecting him and not the other way around. To see the pain she was going through and not be able to comfort her or help her any, because I couldn't even help myself. I didn't understand how it was possible for her not to hate me, yet she didn't.

"Anna, why don't you guys head over to Mark and Jordan's cabin? I'm sure they won't mind if you show up a bit early and I can take care of things here," Taylor suggested quietly from somewhere nearby after the sound of Mel's crying tapered off a while later.

If anything else was said, I didn't hear it and I saw nothing as we headed out, having retreated into my mind as I was forced once more to relive the past.

~x~*~x~

_26 August 2036_

_The last twenty-one days leading up to this had been the most grueling of my existence. Everything bled together, only an endless montage of feelings and brief flashes of images document the progression of long tiring days spent fruitlessly searching as tensions rose under the mounting stress of feeling a constant shadow of fear hovering over us._

_We stayed wolf from the moment we left, the longest period of time ever, especially for a group this size. If we didn't know each other intimately before, we did now. The coven that kidnapped Annabelle was leading us on a merry chase, ten steps ahead from the very beginning, benefiting from our need to eat regularly or stop for rest; something unnecessary for them. They purposely prolonged our pursuit in order to wear us down before we ever even saw a battlefield. _

_We'd headed straight for the northern border of Forks where Alice had last seen them stationed upon leaving La Push, but the grassy oblong clearing was deserted when we arrived. No one seemed able to track them properly either, their stench dispersed in various directions yet altogether indistinct at the same time like a strangely puzzling riddle. We relied on Anna and Levi, our best boarhounds and the only two able to pick up their trail using the lingering traces of their sweetly-foul, rotten odor that beyond detection for the rest of us, so we followed their lead. _

_There were occasional strong whiffs, like getting too close to a dumpster in an alley, which penetrated our senses. It should have meant they were close by, but we never found them and instead of bringing the expected hope, the breakthroughs always had a peculiar diminishing affect on the group. Once a new led was discovered, it wouldn't be long before the trepidation started, dread seeping into our minds and infiltrating every corner as it evolved to full blown terror. _

_Our fears seemed to take on a life of their own. Irrationally and inexplicably expanding and contracting at random times, but always causing a disruptive panic among us that had everyone's thoughts forecasting portents of doom, like the next apocalypse was heading our way, which made it nearly impossibly not to give up and run the opposite direction. We were plagued with nagging doubts, scared that they would continue eluding us until it was too late or dreading that they would slip past us and reach La Push, wiping out those we left behind. It was difficult to say who was struggling to deal with the fear the most because none of us were immune to its affects and it only got worse the longer we continued searching, much like an infectious plague._

_We ran anyways, scouring the unpopulated forests and mountain sides in Olympic National Park, with a fine-toothed comb each day, but they continued to evade us. We didn't stop, determined to catch them, until exhaustion set in and we were dead on our feet and even then only stopping for a few hours of sleep each night, collapsing when we could go no further and the cloak of darkness, blanketing us was greatest. We'd prefer to fight them during the day, probably only vampire clichés and all that hoopla, but it wasn't worth the risk or giving them any extra advantages. _

_Only one particular day, about a week into our search, stands out now. Nothing specific really from the day, just the notion that we'd been convinced we were closing in, only to lose them late in the afternoon; and that everyone had spent the whole day imagining horrible scenarios for how things could go wrong once we did catch up. It was my memory of that evening that remained intact and much clearer than any others in my mind. _

_Experiencing such elevated levels of anxiety for so many hours had been taxing to say the least and we were all completely drained that evening, but I'd woken about an hour after I'd conked out from a nightmare about Melody getting killed. Despite my fatigue, I couldn't get back to sleep. _

_Nor could I block out the images, flashing like a brightly glowing, red neon sign, leaving me gasping for air and nauseous as I fought the need to vomit. Glimpses of the grisly site of my sweet daughter's bloody mangled corpse, her limbs twisted and bent at unnatural angles with her jagged broken bone protruding through the swollen, bluish-green surface of her tender skin, the deep slicing laceration across the flesh of her stomach, spilling— _

**Don't think like that.**_ Taylor growled forcefully, the white fur down his back standing on end as he interrupted my grotesque mental replay. I was surprised that someone else was awake and that I hadn't notice before, then winced that he should be the one to see those fears._

**I can't help it. I'm scared to lose her, any of them.**_ I admitted, though I needn't, it was already obvious._

**That won't happen. She—they, will be fine.**_ He told me. He was trying to reassure himself as much, if not more, than me, but hearing his words didn't stop a new wave of fear from rolling through me._

**You better not leave her side for a single second. You got that? I don't care what's happening around you, you stay with her or I swear I'll never let you near her again when this is over.**___I threatened desperately. _

_His mind swirled to life at that. An array of thoughts, but most centered on thinking I was crazy to ever dare to suggest he wouldn't or wasn't already planning just that. Although one or two thoughts leaked through concerned about if I would ever seriously try to keep them apart, as if Mel, or Anna for that matter, would really let me, not that I would anyways. Just as quickly as they came to life, they morphed into understanding right before he got them under control again._

**I won't. You have my word.**_ He promised seriously and I knew he meant it. We both went back to our own private worries as we attempted to get some more rest before heading out again._

_To prevent being ambushed while we slept, but not lose those few precious hours altogether, the vamps Emmett, Rosalie, Kate, and Garrett stood sentry, while Bella, Edward, Jasper, and Alice scouted the area for any signs of our foes in pairs. _

_We'd hoped that by getting Alice away from us, she'd be able to see something, but it didn't work. She couldn't get a clear vision, not one the entire time we searched. The most she'd been able to see was an obscure blur, like looking through frosted glass, of Rosalie ripping a woman's arm off, but there were no distinct clues to help indicate when or where that happened. It got harder for her to try too, once she stopped going out._

_Jasper, arguably our most skillful and unparalleled fighter was a wreck, kept having unexplainable panic attacks that completely crippled the fearsome soldier, making him grab Alice and run the opposite direction whenever they'd thought they were getting close. So it was decided Emmett and Rosalie would go out instead since Jasper wouldn't let Alice go without him._

_Edward wasn't as much help as we'd hoped for either. He kept thinking he was imagining their thoughts at first, positive that he was just making them up because he wanted to hear them so badly._

_It was two days before the actual fight happened. Edward explained it as one of the vamps, Edgar, who was sticking close to us amplifying our fears and Jun, who he said was the leader, would make us believe that they were truly happening or had happened. This explained a whole lot. When we'd been scared we wouldn't be able to pick up their scent, they made us believe we couldn't smell them or if we were afraid that we would miss them even if they were close by, they made us believe we had missed them. It also explained our unreasonable fears and preoccupation with things going wrong or there being trouble back home that we were missing. It explained things, but I'm not sure how reassuring that knowledge was._

_Fear is powerful. Some would argue that it is the most powerful of all emotions. It can be constrictive and deadly. Nothing has the ability to paralyze the mind and body quite as effectively as fear does. We are defined by what we fear and once a fear exists, it has the ability to spread, slowly creeping through your mind, making you deaf to reason and logic, until its influencing nature corrupts your will and your actions are controlled by your fear. The only way to fight it is to try and master our fears, but at most, the fear will merely be repressed, because it can never truly be released. _

_Knowing what the problem was helped us fight it or at least attempt to. Jasper, being more sensitive to the fear and persuasion than the rest of us due to his empathic gift, struggled unless Alice was beside him since his greatest fear was something happening to her; and Bella tried the next day, but was unsuccessful at getting her shield to work against them. As Alpha, Mark can give orders and we have no choice except to follow them through, but he had no influence on our emotional state of mind. So it wasn't possible for him to simply order us not to be afraid or not to believe something, but at least we were aware of potential dangers beforehand._

_Then last night, armed with this new knowledge and hoping to end things sooner, we pressed on, not stopping for sleep and were rewarded when we finally managed to catch up with them around dawn. Although later I would think back to this point and wonder if they hadn't let us catch up knowing how the chase and our exhausted states would have weakened us and I would regret the fact that I don't remember more of my final days, nights, and hours with Dev, the last time my family would be whole._

_Just before entering the clearing they were congregated in, when we were still a few miles out, Edward announced that two humans were traveling somewhere nearby with Annabelle and that the leader had just given them orders to get moving and hide her, but he couldn't be sure how many of these vamps, if any, had left to assist the trio. Not wanting to take unnecessary risks, we split up, sending Kate to accompany Phil, Collin, and Randy as they helped Brady search for Annie since he would have the best luck tracking her now. _

_The rest of us, including Garrett, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella, Emmett, Rosalie, Jake, Seth, Krys, Jordan, Mark, David, Taylor, Melody, Levi, Devlin, Anna, and myself prepared to battle this new threat, the one with the explicit goal of eliminating all of us. The facts about us stood thus: 7 vampires, all seasoned fighters and 4 that had the advantage of gifts, as well as 12 wolves, 6 of whom had seen this kind of fighting before and 2 more that had at least killed a leech prior to this. _

_Arriving just after sunrise on a beautiful, cool, clear morning that seemed entirely inappropriate for the coming activities, we discovered that for the first time ever, we were going into a fight where we out numbered our opponents. Even with the others gone, there were 19 of us and only 13 of them. It should have been easy, it was almost two to one odds, but we were exhausted before the battle even began and they seemed to fight harder and more viciously than even the highly trained Volturi army had, their grips more crushing, hits more bruising, and kicks more breaking._

_I don't really remember anything about the start of the grueling, brutal fight or how much time past before my memory picks back up again, just a blur of pain, blood, and the deafening reverberations of grinding screeches as vampires were dismembered or the resounding cracks of werewolf bones breaking; and the feelings—the unimaginable fear, the constant struggle not to let their gifts get to us and flee or get distracted by other's thoughts. _

_The collective mind was supposed to aid us in battle, but now it was doing more harm than good. Instead of alerting each other of our opponent's moves or potential threats, we were visualizing each other's deaths. It created enough chaos and disorder amongst us that no one seemed to be able to distinguish fact from fiction, to know what to believe, or even be able to make out each other's thought all the time like they should have. _

_We fought. I fought, mindlessly, automatically. Then suddenly, like a dazed soldier stationed in the trenches who is recovering from the blinding blast and deafening boom of an exploding bomb near the front line, my memories become distinct again. They popped back into focus right as a hissing, sneering vamp, with Farrah Fawcett styled, dishwater blonde hair and high-rise bell bottoms, Anna and I were facing off against landed a bone snapping, roundhouse kick to the left side of her chest, sending her down hard. _

_Enraged, I flew at the leech, my teeth penetrating her rock hard skin at the curve of her lower neck where it connects to the shoulder, my aim not accurate enough to decapitate her, but good enough to do some damage when I ripped the chunk from her body. The proximity forced my nose close enough to smell the rancid, overripe reek of cantaloupe melons. Before I could pull back, the bloodsucker sunk the curled, lioness claw-like talons extending from her long, skeletal thin hand into and across my back, shredding my flesh to ribbons, if the stinging burn was anything to go by, as she fought to pry me loose. She succeeded though I took her shoulder and arm with me. _

_Spitting the foul tasting appendage out, I turned towards where Anna had fallen and the blonde was currently heading and found myself faced with a new opponent. I could feel the difference in this new fight as I dodged a pasty light brown fist barreling towards my grey muzzle, ducking beneath it. The fist belonged to a black haired man. He was dangerous looking and carried himself with a sense power, like he was used to being in charge and intimidating others and I couldn't help feeling intimidated as well. _

_The guy's ruthless brown eyes bore into me and even as I lunged for his leg, intending to tear it off or at least knock him off balance, I felt dread seize my heart in a clenching vice-like hold. The terror threw my aim off and I overshot my target, causing me to smash into the churned, uneven dirt of the brown scarred terrain littered with bristled clumps of its former bright green grass, skidding painfully to a stop several yards away. The crash dislocated my right shoulder and I felt the tendons and ligaments screaming in protest from its useless, limp dangling position as I attempted to roll back onto my feet, faltering and tumbling back to the ground when trying to move over the irregular surface with only three legs unbalanced me. _

_Immediately after that, a kick to the fleshier region of my exposed gut with the force of a wrecking ball sent me flying straight up into the air first. I fought the urge to yak up my stomach and intestines as my organs absorbed the brunt force of the impact. I feared they'd shut down from the extensive internal injuries that kick had surely caused. I twisted helplessly in the air as I paused for a moment at the peak of my flight when my upward momentum was equal to the opposing downward pull of gravity._

_Before my descent had even begun, my assailant's big hand came at me like I was a furry stuffed animal in a vending machine and it was the mechanical claw arm, snatching me towards him by the throat in a punishing grip and a smile on his face. Blind terror clouded my vision and I noticed what the difference with this fight was then, silence. It was silent in my head. I couldn't hear or see anything from anyone and I feared the worst, that they were all dead. I knew they had to be, that was the only way this would happen. _

_A surge of desperation unlike any I'd ever known at the thought of every person I loved, my entire family being dead, giving me a renewed strength. Chocking, my lungs on fire from the lack of oxygen, I used my three good paws, digging them deeply into the disgusting granite hard skin of his chest. I ignored the shrill screeching and dragged them, tearing his silky black shirt, until I felt his hold loosen, allowing me to use his chest as a springboard just as my vision blurred and I felt lightheaded, freeing me from his grasp and propelling me away. _

_Instead of attacking, I stumbled back, trying to clearly see my surrounds, unable to shake the image from my head, searching the clearing for them, though I knew I shouldn't let myself get distracted. This was the fear guy we'd been warned about, he had to be. I knew it in the back of my mind, but I still let the vision trick me. It was kind of like when you know that fresh cup of coffee is hot, but you still take too big a gulp, burning your tongue and instantly regretting it._

**Dad!**_ I heard Dev cry out in fright a millisecond before the impact. _

_A force, stronger than any I'd ever experienced slammed into my side, hurtling me through the air like I was an astronaut in space. My eyes lost focus and the breath was painfully expelled from my lungs in a whoosh when I felt the blow, but all I cared about was that I'd heard my son, that he was alive. _

_I was still soaring effortlessly through the air, the wind ruffling my black fur and my injured shoulder throbbing with a fiery heat when the haze impairing my vision cleared and I saw that it was the runt of the pack, my Dev that had bulldozed into me after his panicked warning. Then I saw why—to protect me from the enclosing mouth of the vamp I had been battling. But by protecting me, he had placed himself directly in the path of the leech's venomous teeth._

_Gasping, but unable to do anything, I watched in horror as they slide into his thickly corded neck, our eyes meeting. His caring, dark orbs widened and just as quickly went blank after the fangs pierced the firm skin beneath his russet fur right as Alice appeared, pulling him away. I was moving in slow motion while the world around me raced in fast forward, still airborne when Jasper, less than a step behind Alice, began ferociously tearing the leech apart before his outstretched hand, reaching for Alice, made contact. _

_I felt the fear and rage radiating from him as he disassembled him, moving faster than my eyes could even follow, faster than Edward's legendary speed could ever possibly hope to keep up with. He was a blur of continuous movement, except his face. His face never seemed to move and as I fell, heading downwards now, almost to the ground. _

_I kept one eye on Alice and Devlin, but the other watched Jasper as the horror spread across my face was reflected back at me from his pale one as they gradually mutated from their previous coldblooded assassin. The expression was clearly visible as he also watched his beloved Alice sink to the patchy ground desperately clutching the swiftly shifting wolf to her. _

_We seemed to land at the same moment. The jarring impact caused my eyes to close for an instant, the pain in my shoulder flaring to life again, but when they reopened they discovered a site that made me wish they never had. Alice's head was jerking rapidly back and forth in tightly controlled motions of denial, her short hair swishing and delicate pixie features contorted in unspeakable sorrow while cradling as much as her tiny arms could of the limp, battered body belonging to my lifeless son. _

_I was in shock, unable to move, unable to phase, unable to tear my eyes away. Her sparkling skin created swirling patterns of twinkling light dotting his skin, illuminating the extensive abrasions he suffered and emphasizing every discolored surface on his skin. _

_Ignoring the turmoil in my head, I looked on as Jasper dropped down to her side, his opponent now demolished; and wrapped his arms comfortingly around the shoulders of the person he had succeeded in protecting. Dev had protected me as well, but I had failed him. _

_All at once it seemed to be over. Everything was finished. The battle was won and Devlin dead._

"_We have to go—three escaped. They're headed for La Push. Edward's ch—," Emmett said when he appeared to quickly dispose of the scattered pieces of my son's killer in one of the fires already blazing, but stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Alice holding my boy, my Devlin's broken body. _

_Alice's golden eyes locked on my, her grief apparent, but just as quickly looked away when Levi ran up. _

**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**_ Over and over again, Levi shouted in denial. _

_The one syllable word coming out riddled with such immeasurable pain, it nearly killed me to witness. My shame was unbearable as I listened to his chant create a nonstop echo that drowned out everyone else's sorrowful pain and confusion as they raced to join us._

_She hurriedly covered the fatal bite on Devlin's neck, knowing even without her premonitions, that he was about to use his enormous wolf tongue to lick the wound, not willing to risk discovering what the affects of ingesting tainted blood might be for a wolf. Levi wrenched back with a repulsed shudder when his tongue made contact with the surface of her stone arm._

_His thoughts were silent now and I was deaf to all others. For a moment, no more than that because apparently this nightmare wasn't over yet and we needed to get back to Forks, nobody moved. The silence we all heard was broken then, disrupted by the one it would always be silent for, as he expressed the immense depth of his, and our grief with an unnatural, eerie howl. It was deep and scratchy. The harsh, rattling sound's piercing echoes resonated through the clearing, tumbling forth to shatter the delicate walls I'd unconsciously erected to keep myself detached, to maintain the illusion that it wasn't real for even just a moment longer if possible. _

_I don't remember trying to phase back, just that once I had, I was locked tightly in my big brother's warm, secure arms, both of us sobbing, crying pitiful, heart wrenching broken tears and clinging to the other as yet other family member was brutally ripped from our lives and this one infinitely more painful than any of the previous ones. I couldn't bear to face Anna right now and I wasn't sure how I ever would again after she realizes this was my fault. She would blame me, hate me for it. _

_The crushing, consuming pain well exceeded the maximum of any threshold I thought I was capable of withstanding without ending up clinically insane. It should have been me that died. I'd rather it was. It felt like someone was using a cheese grater on my heart. Little burning, stinging slices were being carved out all over it at once. My lungs were filling with freezing water, the pressure was excruciating. It sent icy electric shocks rapidly radiating outward and not an inch of my body was exempt, eventually my nerves would be fried and I'd be left numb, I was sure._

_Dev was too young; he hadn't even had a chance to start living yet. No parent should ever outlive his child. I would give anything to go back, to stop him from saving me._

_My son had been dead for maybe three minutes and it was already unbearable. How was I supposed to live out the rest of eternity knowing he'd just died because of me? _

~x~*~x~

26 August 2041

I couldn't say how long we'd been at my brother's when I reemerged from my trance. This happened all the time, not a single day had passed since where it hadn't, and I stopped being surprised by the missing time gaps long ago.

Even the weather was in mourning today, how fitting. I watched as the rushing wind howled while it swept through the tree branches, rustling the leaves along the edge of the forest as I stared out the window from my seat at the table in their cozy breakfast nook. The room was dimly lit with only a little natural light filtering in on the monotonous grey, dreary day as horizontally blown rain pelted the glass, making little tink sounds similar to the clinking of glass marbles.

Jordan was surreptitiously watching me from across the table while he listened to Mark and Anna talk quietly. I knew he was aware of my return to reality and I was grateful he didn't draw attention to it. Mark was hesitantly answering Anna's question about how Eli had been doing lately.

"He's good… happy," he responded carefully, not letting any of his own happiness I knew he felt for his family from being heard in his words. He changed the subject quickly afterwards.

I appreciated his thoughtfulness when discussing that subject today, but my thoughts were conflicted, clashing in a vicious struggle for dominance. I was bitterly jealous, wanting to scream and rage at the injustice of the situation, that fate should gift them with a child after taking mine, but at the same time I was exceedingly happy for them. I knew how lucky a child of theirs' was and how there wasn't a more loving or deserving couple worthy of being granted their wish to have a child, not to mention the fact that I was thrilled, as much as I was about anything anymore, to be an uncle.

It occurred to me that I was the most worked up and alive-feeling that I'd been in a very long time. That these were the most intense emotions over the greatest emotional extent or range I'd felt in five years. Something about remembering what happened this time was different. I by no means felt better or any less guilty, but I did realize that I'd already lost one son and I didn't want to lose another.

I'd let Levi push everyone away before and made no effort to stop him. Back then, it had been hard enough not to actively push him away myself, considering every time I looked at him I saw Devlin and was reminded of my role in his death. But worse than that, had been how I kept expecting Levi to curse me, to let it be known in no uncertain terms that he blamed me entirely, as he should, and wished it had been me instead, as I did.

I wouldn't let that happen again this time. Levi deserved to be happy and I wasn't going to let him waste his life away in isolation, wallowing when it wouldn't change the past. I needed to at least try and put more of an effort into being his and Melody's father again and letting them know I'm here for them, and Anna, and that I will always be there to help them if they need it.

"I'll talk to him after he's had a chance to calm down a bit," I leaned over during a lull in the conversation and whispered casually to Anna, though I knew Jordan and Mark could hear. It wasn't much, but it was a start, although I'm not sure if I'd ever be capable of much more than that.

She looked surprised for a moment that I'd spoken, twitching slightly, then even more so, her jaw dropping, as she processed my words. A second later she kissed me. It was just what I, and it seems she, needed right then, passionate and intense. This kind of kiss was a lot rarer these days and I had missed it. We poured all of our grief, fear, regret, but most of all, our love, into that kiss. I savored her sweet vanilla and coffee taste and her perfect scent, like the bark on a Ponderosa Pine tree on a sunny day. It reminded me of baking cookies or perhaps butterscotch. I never wanted it to end and it took a few, less than subtle, coughs from our audience before they finally managed to break us up.

Pulling back, I stared into her beautiful, kind chocolate eyes and small but loving smile, and I knew that the consuming, crushing grief I felt wouldn't always be quite this bad as long as she continued looking at me like that. I would never stop feeling guilty about what happened, but I loved this woman and I didn't want to push her away anymore, I couldn't. My family, more specifically our surviving son, needed me right now.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	16. Down The Rabbit Hole

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, it means the world to me!**

**Sorry for the delay in updating. My computer crashed last week and I lost three and a half chapters for this story and half a chapter for Promises of Forever, so I spent the weekend rewriting them.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai! You're tremendously talented and I am so grateful that you've shared your gift and that you've let me play around with your characters.**

* * *

Down The Rabbit Hole

* * *

30 August 2041

**Something came up, can't make it anymore. Call you later.—Melody**

That was the last thing I expected to wake up and see this morning. I was exhausted from staying up most of the night so I double checked to make sure I hadn't misread Melody's text. I hadn't.

The message was vague and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. It was like hearing the start of a story, but getting interrupted before the end was told. I was disappointed that our plans fell through, but more than that, I was worried that something might have happened or was wrong with her, even though I didn't know what it could be.

We'd been hanging out since the bonfire, maybe once or twice a week, usually playing cards at my house or bumming around the sorry excuse for a town that Forks was. I loved spending time with Mel. She'd popped up as suddenly as a daisy out of a late spring snow and managed to become an intrinsic part of my life. She was like an unstoppable force of nature and one of the sweetest people I had ever met, always caring about everyone around her and trying to make sure everyone was happy. Melody made it impossible not to relax and have fun whenever I saw her. Bree typically joined us and we'd hung out with Jesse a couple times too, but a little over a week ago it had just been the two of us when we did dinner and a movie at her place.

That night was amazing. It was hard to believe that such an innocent interaction with Levi could be so intense, but that didn't mean it wasn't or that our every encounter wasn't turning out to have much of the same fire. I'd gone into the kitchen to get something to drink and he'd been in there cooking. Seeing his surprised face when I came in the room and his messy hair from when he'd been goofing off with his sister was altogether adorable.

I'd completely forgotten what I was looking for by the time I opened his fridge and seeing how full it was didn't rush to prompt my memory either. I recognized one of the clear plastic vegetable bags from my parents' store and it dawned on me that he really had been doing an awful lot of shopping there lately. From the looks of things, he could keep us in business all by himself.

Being this close to him changed my perception in a very peculiar, but stimulating way. Everything related to him was enhanced while the rest or our surroundings, and potentially the world, faded or disappeared entirely. If I closed my eyes I could swear I was standing in a forest, his pine scent assaulting my senses more strongly than the mouth water aroma coming from the food he was preparing.

Then when he'd come up behind me and I felt the thrilling press of his solid, burning body, I knew that nothing would ever feel as perfect as being this close to him again. The gentle press of his satin-tipped fingers blazed a trail down my arm like the brush of a thousand feathers dancing along my most sensitive regions of skin. The simple touch sapped my energy, leaving me faint as if drugged until I sagged back against him needing his body to keep me upright, but the firm, steady grip of his hand on my hip revitalized me.

The heat of his palm seeped through the thin fabric of my dress and it was like he was holding me skin to skin and I didn't dare miss a moment of the feeling. The heat of his touch was overwhelming, he was impossibly hot and it was heaven to be surrounded by it, to feel its welcome embrace when his large hand swallowed mine entirely within its grasp. It was better than feeling the sun's beautiful shimmering rays rain down on me.

The contrast between his heat and the wafting breeze of cold air being expelled from the refrigerator was doing crazy things to my head. His touch made me feel as if I had just run a marathon, I couldn't catch my breath, but I didn't care because each one I took felt like I was sucking in a bit of his very essence. He was a drug and I wanted, no, needed, actually _craved_ more.

I was in awe that he'd known what I was looking for and not only that, but that he'd stopped what he was doing to get it for me. It was so sweet. When he stepped away, I couldn't stop myself from turning to stare at the Adonis he was or from stepping forward, wanting to be closer again. His intent expression drew me towards him like a magnet.

A muffled squelching sound burst the enchanted bubble that had enveloped us in a fantasy-like reality and Levi's attention was diverted by our snooping audience consisting of his sister. I was mortified that Melody caught us doing, well, I wasn't exactly sure what we were doing, but I knew we were doing something if the look on her face was anything to go by and I'd fled the room as fast as possible.

When Levi had offered me some of the food he'd made I was shocked. His kind generosity and thoughtfulness sent a warm pang to my heart and made my head spin. The food was probably the most delicious thing I had ever eaten and I regretted not being able to thank him and let him know how wonderful it was or how much I appreciated him making it. I was trying to mentally review all the sign language I had learned up to that point, but the thought of actually attempting a real conversation with him made me forget what little I had learned.

I had been so completely distracted by my musings about her brother that I can't remember what movie I watched with Melody, but I definitely remember making arrangements with her for us to get together the following weekend. Except that was supposed to be happening now and she just canceled even though I know she was looking forward to this.

The idea had been to stay over at Melody's tonight so that we could get an early start tomorrow and spend the day visiting the First Beach caves since I had never bothered to explore them, always opting to lay out under the open sunny skies on the warm sand instead. She had been teasingly scandalized when I confessed the transgression and enthusiastically insisted we go as soon as possible, before the weather turned cold since fall was nearly upon us.

We had to wait a week, because Mel already had plans with Taylor last weekend and school had started Monday, meaning this was our first opportunity. I had been looking forward to our outing ever since, but not for the caves. I was much more excited about getting to spend the night under the same roof as Levi and I was really hoping for another opportunity for something to happen like it did last week. Maybe it was unrealistically optimistic, but my anticipation had been mounting all week at the thought feeling his skin again or getting to see the look in his eyes when he gazed at me.

Tonight might have even provided an ideal opportunity to at least try talking to Levi. Perhaps say 'hello, how are you' or 'thank you' if he made dinner again, something like that. I should have at least be able to fumble my way through something that simple considering I had spent a vast amount of time, between two and four hours a day, over the last two months trying to learn sign language. I was using a website I found that had helpful video clips when I was at home and the book I had bought while I was waiting on Beth during her dance classes. Unfortunately, I was still awful, but it would have at least been worth a try.

Knowing that this was coming up this weekend, I had doubled up on my daily practice time, extending them further last night in order to continue drilling at least the basics into my head for today. I'd even asked my parents for this afternoon off in order to review one last time before heading over, hoping that would keep it all fresh in my mind.

Signing had turned out to be quite the challenge for me, but I kept at it like a dog with a bone and now I was finally starting to get the hang of it or at least I was starting to understand how to go about learning.

At first the problem was my impatience. I wanted to know everything immediately and went over so many words each day that I wasn't able to retain anything I covered; my mind wiped clean each night while I slept so I woke up again with a blank slate. It's only been in the last week or two that I have finally slowed down to a reasonable pace which allowed me to remember things from one day to the next when I practiced.

My time spent waiting on Beth during her dance lessons provided a perfect opportunity to review. I'd been surprised she stuck with the class, especially since Tara, the main reason she was so stubbornly determined to learn in the first place, was only around the first week and has been gone on maternity leave ever since. As for my hobby, it was still taking longer than I expected to learn anything.

Now I'm worried that at this rate it's going to take me months before I'm sufficiently fluent enough to be able to have any kind of intelligent conversation with him. That is if he even wants to talk to me and this isn't all for nothing. Either way, I intended to learn just in case I did get the chance one day.

~x~*~x~

4 November 2041

Nothing. It's been over two months and in that time I've neither seen nor heard anything from Melody. And Levi, The Phantom, had apparently vanished for good as well.

I waited a couple weeks, hoping she would call or he would randomly show up like he used to, but that never happened. I'm not sure why I felt the need to do so, but I managed to come up with legitimate excuses for Levi's absences. When he stopped taking Chloe and Ava to dance, I explained this as him simply not being available any longer now that school had started up. I was also able to justify not seeing him at my parents' store anymore by taking the blame upon myself because since school started back up and I was rarely there anymore. That made it extremely believable to assume that I was probably just missing him when he did show up. The reasons behind Melody's disappearance, however, weren't as easy to understand.

I'd waited as long as I could for her to contact me before finally giving in and calling her instead, but she didn't answer and another few weeks passed with no word from her. Regret didn't adequately describe my feelings on the matter. I missed Melody. I had really thought we had or at least were becoming friends, but then this happened and I didn't know what to think or do. I was beyond what someone would reasonably consider as being confused. Did I really mean so much less to her than she did to me?

As horrible as losing her friendship was to me, it was Levi's absence that affected me the most, although it really shouldn't have. The significance and value I had come to place on any sign of acknowledgement I received from him was rather staggering to realize once he was no longer a part of my life. His very presence had gifted me with a brief glance at the magnificence of heaven then I blinked and found myself cast out like a fallen angel that had committed an unknown sin.

I felt abandoned, betrayed, like an unwanted pet whose owner moved away, but left him behind in a dark alley. I didn't understand why or how it was possible to feel like this. All I knew for certain was that it hurt, that I hurt—all the time. Subconsciously, I knew I didn't have any actual claim on him, considering we had never spoken, but it felt like I did anyways and it hurt being away from him. It was completely irrational to feel this way, but that didn't make it any less true. Without him I was adrift, lost even.

At one point I began seriously wondering if I had made him up entirely. If Levi was just some unattainable guy I had dreamed up and I'd wanted so desperately to be with this manifestation, that I had reached through the ether to find. Either he was real and I was still waiting on him or I had woken up on my own to find myself in a world where he didn't exist. Both scenarios were heartbreaking to consider.

I had almost fully convinced myself that he and by association, Melody as well, really were nothing more than figments of my overactive imagination, until Bree ruined the illusion by asking if I'd heard from Mel since she couldn't get a hold of her. That pretty much shattered what was left of my sanity.

I caved and resorted to calling her again, but once more my call went unanswered and unreturned.

My life had turned into its very own version of Alice in Wonderland and I wasn't exactly thrilled about it. I never liked that tale as a child, thinking it proved my point that when you go searching for excitement, the only thing you find is trouble, and usually more than its worth.

That's why I was so baffled by my own decision to go down the rabbit hole. I'm not even sure when I made the decision to jump or if I was pushed, or possibly even pulled, which seemed more likely somehow, just like I somehow knew it was already too late for me to get out now. There were no exits in this adventure; I was stuck on this ride until it ended, if it hadn't already, left hoping I wouldn't crash along the way or that the ending didn't consist of me getting my heart broken, which is precisely what it looked like was going to happen.

Playing it safe, not letting myself get in too deep or falling too recklessly wasn't an option for me anymore. I'd ended up poised on a high wire anyways, risking it all in a gamble when I leaped before having a chance to look, and ended up a goner. Levi was it for me. I honestly knew nothing about him, but the frenzy he brought to life inside me with a simple look was undeniable and I was smart enough to realize how unlikely it was that I would ever meet someone else with the ability to affect me to such an alarming degree.

One thing no one who knew me would guess and something I had never admitted to anyone, not even Sabrina, was that I didn't want the sweet and comfortable kind of love that easily withstands hardships and lasts. Where you start out as best friends and when you're eighty, you're still best friends first and foremost, you just also happen to be married. That's what my parents have and yea they love each other, but I want more.

I want something epic, the kind of love told in legends, sung in ballads, and written in fairytales. A love that is extraordinary, consuming, unbreakable, a love so powerful it is transcendent. A love that never gets old or familiar and every kiss feels like the first. I want someone I would give up everything for and is capable of igniting my very soul.

I crave passion, scorching hot and nearly unbearable. I long to feel a rush that leaves me dizzy and gasping for breath every single time he walks in the room and I want electricity to sizzle and crackle the air whenever we get close followed by chills powerful enough to leave goosebumps in their wake when we finally touch.

Everyone always says a love like that can't last and that's why the tales are typically told in the great tragedies like _The Odyssey_ or _Romeo and Juliet_, but I think it can and anything less is just settling, which is one of the reasons why I don't confess to wanting something like that. My family would automatically start in on how dangerous that would be, how it was the equivalent to playing Russian roulette, and how I was bound to end up destroyed beyond repair.

I never actually expected to find anything remotely close. I never put myself out there to look for it, but with Levi, I didn't really get a choice before it happened and that scares me more than I ever dreamed possible.

Even now when my world was in a constant state of flux where it shrank and grew, moving in every direction at once with blurred edges, I remained a hypocrite where my heart was concerned. The reasons I've always disliked Alice in Wonderland stare mockingly at me when I look at my reflection in the Cheshire Cat's mirror.

Alice wanted to be in a fantasy world, but found it to be unexpectedly more complicated than she anticipated once her wish was granted. The irony wasn't lost on me that while I thought she deserved that, I was dejected when my own wish was granted and it didn't turn out as expected. I wanted someone to make me feel these intense feelings, but hadn't anticipated him not returning them or only being around for a stolen season instead of a permanent figure in my life.

Only a few days went by after this realization before I began distancing myself from everyone even more than I already had been since school started up again. I knew I was doing it, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It was easier to be detached, remote, to cut off all ties with the people around me. There didn't really seem to be much point in faking happiness for others and it took more energy to even try with each passing day.

I was getting away with it too. Life was meaningless nowadays, tedious. Everything was in shades of grey as I went through the motions of living and the few times I slipped back into reality I felt utterly isolated and alone, making it easier to quickly fade out again.

It had been over six months since I last saw my sister Angie, but I still skipped going on the trip that my parents and Beth went on to see her over our school's fall break. I missed her, but increasing the distance separating me and Levi was unimaginable. It already seemed like an ocean and that was painful enough.

I was still diligent in my quest to master sign language, despite the gut wrenching fear that it was already too late to make a difference. Learning had become my only way to feel closer to him, a link that hadn't been severed. It also served as an intriguing and much needed diversion to fill the free time I suddenly had spades of now that Bree was seeing someone. We still talked like usual, but these days you were much more likely to find her with him than with me.

Bree's new boyfriend, Baz Wiel, was a transfer student, a Kiwi recently moved here from Wellington, New Zealand. His placement test put him in the same grade as us even though he was almost a year younger since the terms and grade system were different abroad. He was the very definition of mellow, unless Sabrina or rugby was mentioned and while he rarely spoke, he could talk about the All Blacks, the national rugby team, for hours. Baz used to play, but one too many knee injuries had put an end to that and explained the thick knee brace he now sported. His shaggy hair was black and it contrasted sharply with his alabaster skin, which served as an almost iridescent background, highlighting a few jagged scars he'd gotten from people's cleats while playing.

Baz was a really nice guy and he'd spent weeks tirelessly wearing Bree down so she'd agree to go on a date with him, which normally would have been enough for a guy to win my favor and approval, but I honestly didn't want to see them together. I truly desired Bree's happiness, but I knew that wasn't going to happen in a relationship with a guy that came with an expiration date.

His father was a biology professor and he was here on sabbatical for a year studying a local bird's mating and migration patterns, but once the year was up this coming April, they were heading back home and I was worried about how hard Sabrina would take it considering how close they had become in the last six weeks.

The only person that hadn't backed off during the two months since school started and wasn't letting me drift along was surprising Beth. For the last three weeks or so she's been bugging me nonstop about what was bothering me, refusing to let up. Every night she would corner me after dinner and bombard me with a string of pointed questions centered on what was going on and why Melody and I weren't friends anymore. Questions I did not feel up to discussing even if I did know the answers, which I didn't. She was worried about me, but lately she'd taken worried to a whole new extreme.

Last weekend she was staying at Chloe's after her Friday night class and Harley was going to stay over too. It was the first time since this summer they were hanging out outside of class if I remembered correctly and I fearfully wondered if I was the culprit behind her failing friendships.

She'd only been there for a few hours when she called me to come pick her up. I floored it to get there as fast as possible, scared something had happened to her because she sounded horrible on the phone, her nasally, muffled words nearly impossible to understand.

Phil opened the door before I had begun knocking, my hand poised in the knocking position looking like I was impersonating a mime. He was cradling his infant son against his broad chest, his gigantic hands forming a nearly complete cocoon around the sleeping baby's body. Opening the door a little wider so that I could enter, I found a crowd of people gathered in the entryway all staring at me.

I was so flustered by all of the attention and the flaming blush heating my cheeks, I almost missed seeing Beth standing closest to the door holding a tissue to her bloody nose as she glared at the very smug duo of Harley and Chloe standing farthest away by a visibly upset Tara. I watched Eli hand her a small bag of ice and Ava offer her more tissues before I managed to find my voice.

"Beth?! Oh my god, what happened," I exclaimed then bit my lip, wincing a little as I watched the red seeping outward, saturating the corner of the kleenex sticking out between two fingers of her bawled fist.

'They fought, because they wouldn't tell her what happened with you and Levi,' Eli slowly signed and I stared at him utterly stupefied, half because I understood what he was signing and half by what he said.

I was amazed that I managed to follow the fluid, distinct shapes his hands formed and interpret their meaning. This was the first time since I really started trying to learn that I had seen someone signing and not known beforehand what they were saying, which was actually nothing more than following along.

No one else spoke and I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but the most I could do was blink and continue to stare at him dumbfounded by what I should say or do. I watched him tap Ava then point at me and I assumed it was because he concluded I didn't understand and he wanted her to translate what he said, but Beth pushed off the wall she was slouched against and grabbing my arm, dragged me outside before Ava got the chance.

Beth got in the car without a word and remained silent the whole way home. She was clearly fuming, so I respected her wish for privacy and didn't push her, a courtesy I know she wouldn't have shown me. When we reached the house she stomped straight up to her room and dramatically slammed her door.

She hadn't spoken to me the rest of the weekend and refused to go to school Monday or Tuesday because she'd ended up with two black eyes. Her nose was also apparently broken, but Phil had reset it for her before I got there, so that she wouldn't need to go to the hospital to get it fixed. She was back today; no longer mad at me now that the damage to her face had mostly faded. There was only a slight discoloration, but she had effectively covered that with a skillful application of make-up.

This fall, her Monday ballet class had been switched to Wednesday nights and even with my fast driving we should have left five minutes ago if she wanted to get there on time, but she hadn't emerged from her room leaping and twirling in one of her colorful leotards like a rainbow sucked up by a twister as she usually did.

"Beth, come on, you're going to be late to class if we don't get going right now," I called casually through Beth's closed door wondering what could be keeping her.

Her door swung in immediately to reveal Beth standing in the faded, torn denims and stripped turtleneck sweater she had worn earlier to school. "I'm not going," she said seriously, crossing her arms over her chest and popping a hip out to give a little attitude to her declaration.

"Why not?" When she didn't answer, I prodded a little. "Is this to avoid Chloe because of the fight," I asked carefully, hoping not to rile her up, but honestly wanting to talk her out of this rash decision if that was the reason. I didn't want her to give up something she loved over a little disagreement between friends when Beth would likely be over it in another day or two; she had like a two second rebound rate.

"No," she said turning to walk back into her room and waving me to follow. I looked around her room as I walked over to sit on her bed.

Her bedroom was intense, almost volatile, but still sparkly and vibrant, much like her personality. It was painted a brilliant shade of dark red with swirls of metallic gold and silver as well as a flat black that acted as accents. It reminded me of something you might see in a club scene or as a stage backdrop used in a play.

"Then why are you quitting, I thought you loved dance this time around." I delicately prodded further as I watched her rapid, long-legged pacing that should have looked angry and manly, but she somehow still managed to make look like a graceful dance.

"I'm not quitting, I'm just not going back until you work things out with Melody and Levi," she said moodily with a heated glance in my direction before continuing her pacing from one end of the room to the other in front of me, wearing a path in the black rug she used to cover the neutral taupe carpeting we had throughout the house.

"What? I don't und—" I started incredulously, amazed at what she had just said, but she quickly cut me off to explain the statement.

"I'm sick of how awkward things have become for me with them. They're my friends and spending the summer with them was like, the best ever, but then it's suddenly like they can't seem to do anything and this kept on and kept on until Chloe finally fessed up and told me they weren't allowed to anymore. That's all she'd say… so I thought back to when it started, and I realized it was the same time you and Melody stopped hanging out…" her rant trailed off then as she came to stand in front of me with her hands on hips, glaring down at me like I'd been a naughty child then continued before I could say a word. "The two things must be related and I hate how things are, so this is me trying to change them!"

"Beth, I'm so sorry if I had something—" I started apologizing, but she cut me off again waving my words away.

"I'm not mad at you, Kris. I know you'd never purposely hurt anyone. Besides, I'm trying to help you here too," she said like it was the simplest thing in the world to understand her motives. She huffed when I just continued to stare at her in confusion, "look, you've been miserable since you stopped hanging out with them… so why aren't you doing something to fix it already!"

"Beth, no. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." I stressed wanting this conversation to be over and regretting ever trying to help her.

"You're lying! God, Kris, have you looked in a mirror lately? You should see yourself, you look horrible." I stared at her absolutely shocked that she had said that. Seeing my expression, she quickly amended not sounding a bit contrite, "okay, fine! You don't look any different, but that's what I'm trying to get at. You were becoming this awesome person that I barely recognized this summer, taking chances and letting people in. Hell, you were even fun for a change out in public, instead of just here at home. But now… you've reverted back into the same timid little mouse that you used to be."

"Gee, thanks, but I still don't understand why you think Melody is the problem," I asked. Her words stung, but I knew she wasn't going to let this drop until she'd had her say so it was best if I just got through it now.

"And Levi, especially him," she eagerly added and I realized this was what she wanted to tell me about all along. "I don't know what happened exactly, but you were so happy this summer. I've never seen you happier, but then it went away when you stopped hanging out with Mel and don't forget I saw you on the Fourth, so I know Levi had something to do with it too."

"Beth, you're being ridiculous about this."

"Then why are they always talking about the two of you together?" Her eyes glowed with devilish light as she shared that, knowing exactly how it would spark my interest against my better judgment.

"Wait—what? Who?" I gasped thinking I must have misheard her.

"Everyone out there, all summer… Harley and her parents, her sister's boyfriend, Chloe and her parents, oh and the night of the Fourth, Mel and Taylor were with her parents when they came over to say goodnight, they all thought I was asleep," she bragged proudly before crowing a little more because she knew she could, "do you need more examples, cuz I've got 'em. They always stop when they notice me close by, but you know I've mastered the art of spying."

"I don't really—uh, know what to say… I'm confused…" I trailed off baffled by what she was implying and wishing it all made sense instead of just making me want to believe that it meant he returned at least a semblance of my feelings for him.

"How bout this then, talk to them, so you're happy again and I can have my friends back… I really do miss them, Kris," she pleaded earnestly and I could easily detect that she had done this out of concern and love even if she hadn't shown a modicum of tact.

"I'm not sure it's as simple as all that, Beth." I whispered truthfully not looking at her, afraid to see if she looked disappointed.

"So do whatever it is you have to do, just don't take easy way out… or you'll regret it," she said sagely, or it might have been if she wasn't just parroting something I know she copied from Bree, but it came with a hug that was all her and made it impossible for me to disregard this conversation as I would have like to.

~x~*~x~

6 November 2041

I hated that this, whatever this even was, had started to affect my sister's life. That was never supposed to happen, my relationship problems shouldn't hurt Beth too, and the fact that they were made me feel horrible. I'd tried calling Melody that night, but she hadn't picked up. I left a message, but I kept it vague since I wasn't even sure if she'd listen to it and only asked that she call me when she got a chance.

That was two days ago. I haven't heard from her yet and I honestly doubt I will either, but I needed some answers because I really wanted to fix things, for Beth and myself, because some of what she said was true.

She'd also managed to get my hopes up and make me wonder if I really did have a shot with Levi, because if I did, then I planned to do whatever was necessary to try.

The only other person's number I had was Jesse's, but she probably would have been my first choice after Mel anyways since the reason I had her number and no one else's was because she was really the only other person I knew in La Push. I was scared to call her, scared to hear what she thought, but I was starting to understand that, that meant it could be the most worthwhile.

It took four tries before I managed to build up my courage enough to finish dialing her number before chickening out and hanging up. Once I finally pushed the send button on my emerald green phone, I was too panicked to snap the phone shut before she picked up on the third ring and I heard her inquisitive voice float up to me.

"Hello?"

"Jesse… hi, this is, umm Krista," I said stammered nervously, nibbling on my lower lip and cringing as I blushed despite her not being able to see the deepening pink advancing to a shade on the borderline of red.

"Krista! Hi. Well this is a little unexpected… what's up?" She spoke overly loud, but cheerfully with surprise as well as genuine pleasure sounding from each word.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something… in person preferably," I timidly requested after taking a few calming breathes that positively failed to calm my spastic nerves.

"Umm… yea, I guess so." All former traces of happiness had vanished leaving her unsure response to ring hollowly.

"If it's a problem—" I began disappointedly, but she immediately cut me off.

"No, no it's fine. I'm just babysitting my nieces right now, that's all," she explained trying to sound reassuring and even though I honestly doubted the sincerity of her explanation or at least that being the only reason behind her hesitation, I was willing to accept it if it meant I would get some answers. "Why don't you come over here? I'm sure my brother won't mind," she offered excitedly, the abrupt change completely throwing me off after her reluctance a moment ago.

"Okay."

I quickly scribbled the directions she gave me after that and was in my car headed towards La Push a few minutes later, eager to get there before I could change my mind or talk myself out of going. This was too important to let that happen.

My conversation with Beth a couple days ago had got me thinking. I'd always been a passenger in my own story, the sidekick verses the leading lady, and for the first time ever I've met someone that inspired me to take control of my destiny and be in charge of my own fate. That's what this was about.

~*~ ∞ ~*~

**Endnote: Tomorrow is my 24****th**** birthday so please review! Thanks :)**


	17. Choices

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thanks for all the reviews, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think. Also, I really appreciated all of the birthday wishes, so thanks!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Special thanks to CreepsofWrath for helping me out with all the Port Angeles information.**

**Thanks, yay4shanghai, you are the greatest! I really appreciated the help fixing the signed dialogue.**

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Choices

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1 September 2041

Six days. They let me spend six days locked away from the rest of the world before my father of all people brought an end to my self-imposed isolation.

I was at an all time low. I wouldn't have believed it possible before. Back then, when Dev died, I was sure there was nothing lower than the despair, the hell, I'd been a prisoner to for countless days, months, years, but I knew differently now. Ignorance had allowed me to believe nothing worse existed, but now I'd plummeted through the floor to reach an all new kind of hell, discovering one of the lower levels that Dante had warned of in his writings.

All I could do was think. Think about _her_, about what was happening. I tried not to, but the thoughts assaulted me, pelting my brain like BBs from an air gun. I had too much time to think, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything else. It was too painful to use _her_ name in my thoughts, like a thousand knives stabbing me everywhere at once and I managed not to. I hadn't signed it or thought it since that conversation with Melody almost a week ago.

It might have been better to give up, considering there didn't seem much point in living without _her_, but knowing she was still alive kept me from thinking like that the majority of the time. The only definite conclusion I'd come to was to figure things out as I go and right now that meant doing nothing and going nowhere. For now I was like a photo, frozen in time and place.

The people in my life left me alone during this time, knowing it would be a fruitless endeavor to attempt any form of communication with me because I had retreated too far into my mind for them to reach me now. Someone prepared food for me, three meals each day, which I'd mechanically eaten because I knew I should, but I didn't taste any of it. Whoever brought it, saved me the trouble of getting it myself, making the only reason I had to leave my bedroom for the occasional shower or to maintain my personal hygiene.

Melody and Taylor stayed out of my room, but I could smell them nearby the entire time, never straying too far away, making sure to remain available to return at a moments notice if I needed them. This was the most time they'd spent in this house since Tay and Jared finished the repairs on Tay's new house. I wanted to feel moved by the gesture, but there was nothing left of me to be moved.

Mom and dad also didn't try to talk to me, although I could smell them at the house, and I got lucky because my uncles were too busy with their newly adopted daughter, Hazel, to try either.

The only person that did visit was Freddie. He would stop by everyday and sit silently for an hour or two in the chair beside my bed. His sympathetic presence was only tolerable because he never made any attempt to speak with me. Sometimes it was even comforting to have him there for a few minutes and that was better than nothing. The only sign of acknowledgement he ever partook of was a single nod in greeting when he arrived and one in farewell when he departed each day. Freddie was my closest male friend besides Tay and he understood I couldn't handle anymore than that.

Then dad came in this morning and forced me to make a choice, signing, 'you can't hide forever, Levi. You can talk to me about this or get up and go to school, either way this has to end.'

I'd stared at him for a few minutes, internally debating how serious he was about this, considering he was the last person I expected to challenge my decision. He met my assessing gaze straight on, his own unwavering and unbelievably expressive. The sight sent an electric shock through my system like a pulse from a defibrillator. His grief, concern, determination and love were all shining clearly back at me, it was more than I ever expected to see again from him, but what got me the most, was the fear. I could detect that it was the dominant emotion, although I couldn't be sure what exactly he was scared of. I had a feeling most of it stemmed from the possibility that I might take him up on his offer to discuss the shambles of my life.

Acknowledging that, my decision to shower and return to school was equal parts based on my personal desire to avoid any mention of _her_ and to spare him any additional unnecessary pain. I loved him too much to willingly add a few more heaping shovels onto the already immense pile of worries he was buried under and I knew sharing my recent thoughts would only serve as additional fuel for his raging guilt. That was how an hour later found me miserably sitting, squashed into one of the tiny desks at Lincoln High School in Port Angeles.

~x~*~x~

6 November 2041

I lasted just over a month before the consuming need to ensure her safety became too overwhelming to ignore any longer and I had to check on her, make sure nothing had happened in my absence. So much for having any willpower.

It might have been impossible to resist the pull, but my actions were cautious, ever mindful of minimizing the danger I put her in with my very presence. Every evening, as soon as the sun went down I ran in circles, all night long. Creating a perimeter that kept me close enough to pick up her scent and know she was okay or move to protect her if it became necessary, but far enough that no connection was apparent between us.

School became an even worse torture once my new routine started. School was nothing but a pointless waste of time that my body was present for while my mind was as far away as possible. I'd lasted almost two weeks before the exhaustion of spending my nights running instead of sleeping caught up with me and I began falling asleep in class. My teachers were furious, constantly threatening to call my parents if I didn't start paying attention in class. Not that I had been before, but apparently it was more obvious with my eyes closed. I'd also discovered that teachers tend to frown on sitting with my face buried in my arms on my desk, said something about how that makes it harder for them to sign some useless information at me.

Then today happened. It wasn't just my typical distraction after lunch, it was more like I was completely oblivious as I turned in a writing assignment at the start of my history class then found my seat planning to spend the next hour sleeping or starting off into space. We were supposed to be independently working on the final research projects we started earlier this week while Ms. Westin graded our papers.

Maybe ten minutes into class, Ms. Westin broke me out of my trance with several sharp jabs to my shoulder that I barely felt, but were enough to bring her stern face swimming into view as she hovered over my desk. When she asked to see me in the hall, signing with one hand, I noticed the other was gripping a sheet of paper so tightly it had actually balled into a fist. I quickly moved to follow her out, not wanting to test her limited patience by making her wait on me.

Ms. Westin was a strict elderly woman with absolutely no tolerance for anything she deemed as frivolous or immature foolishness. She was perpetually serious and saw everything in black and white, stressing facts and rules. Almost every inch of skin was covered by the clothes she wore and her hair was always kept slicked back and tightly secured in a bun at the nape of her neck. She was a no nonsense kind of person in desperate need of a sense of humor.

As soon as the classroom door shut behind me, she waved the paper she was clutching in front of my face as she shoved it at me, narrowing her already disproportionally small eyes as she did. I took the wrinkled sheet, but didn't immediately look at it, scared that I already knew exactly what I would see written on it.

'What is the meaning of that?' Her hands jerked sharply as she angrily signed the question. Her lips formed a thin, straight line that slashed across her face and her beady little eyes bore into me disturbingly.

Inspecting the paper, I immediately recognized that it was what I'd feared, a note. It was of the hundreds of letters I had recently taken to writing whenever I managed to stay awake in class, all telling her everything. Starting with what I am then why I'd disappeared so suddenly, explaining what happened to Dev and her role in all this, and finally ending it by begging her to forgive me for putting her in danger because I'm not strong enough to stay away entirely.

Looking back up showed that Ms. Westin was staring at me, obviously waiting for an answer. I had no clue how to even begin trying to get out of this situation. I'm not very good at thinking on my feet or lying and this required both.

'Can you explain yourself? Was this some sort of joke? You'll notice I am not amused.' She signed when I just stared blankly at her. I refrained from pointing out that she never was or the unlikelihood of her even knowing how to recognize a joke, figuring that wouldn't help me much just then.

No inspiration sprung to mind during the few seconds following her inquiry before my attention was diverted when a whiff of an unexpected aroma reached me. Normally it was hard to distinguish anything unique, let alone appealing at school when there were so many sweaty teenage bodies packed in one place, but in the deserted hallway it was easier and this tantalizing scent I would know anywhere. It was a blend of mountain air and wildflowers with a dash of coconut to add an exotic element, but it didn't make any sense to smell it now, here. Not unless she was nearby instead of safe at school.

Completely ensnared, I turned towards the double, glass-paned doors at the end of the hall. Without so much as another glance at Ms. Westin, I stuffed the paper in my pocket and walked out. Her melodic scent enchanted me and like a snake, I followed the music to the charmer playing it. The fragrance was coming from the building across the street, the Clallum County Historical Society, and judging by the bright yellow school bus parked out front, she was here on a class trip.

Unable to resist taking this opportunity to see her for the first time in months, I snuck inside and easily found her. She was even more beautiful than I remembered and I drank in the site of her vibrant skin and the golden waves of her long hair. Memorizing her image, I assessed every detail I could and noted that she was paler with only a faint tinting stubbornly clinging to her skin. Although, that was probably to be expected since it was nearly winter, but I also thought she looked a little thinner and couldn't help the rising worry that gave me. She had already been too skinny for me not to fear hurting her.

Now that she was here, in front of me again, I couldn't bring myself to leave. I wanted as many stolen moments as I could get, so I followed her around for the next couple hours, making sure to stay hidden from her. A few times I feared she knew I was there because she kept looking around like she was searching for someone, but she never showed any kind of reaction, so I'm fairly sure she didn't see me.

It wasn't until after she'd boarded her bus and driven away that I remembered having walked out in the middle of class, more specifically in the middle of being interrogated by the biggest stick in the mud teacher I had. I debated not going back, just heading home early instead, but seeing my dad's car parked in front of the building in one of the visitor's spots when I went to get mine stopped me.

I headed straight for the principal's office when I got inside, knowing that's where my dad would be. His large body was squished into one of the chairs provided in the waiting area with my book bag at his feet when I walked up. He stood up when I reached him and handed me the bag with a huge grin that I was at a loss to explain.

'I can't wait to tell Jordan about this,' he signed cheerfully when he noticed my confusion. That made sense, and as much as I'd rather he kept this to himself, if telling my uncle made him smile like that, it was worth the humiliation. Besides, my uncle's reaction would be interesting to see.

'So does this mean I'm not in trouble?' I signed stupidly and watched his smile fade into nothing, all indications of amusement erased from his face. I just had ask, didn't I?

'We need to have a serious talk about all this when we get home. You can't go on like this, Levi.' He signed determinedly just before the principal walked up to show us into his office.

I didn't pay any attention to what was said between my dad and the principal while we were in his office or offer up any excuses for anything I did today, not caring enough to bother and thinking it was best to let dad deal with it anyways. It wasn't long before they finished; I assumed that meant they had covered most of what they needed to before I got back.

Dad didn't try to talk to me as we left the office, just tugged on my arm to get me to walk with him since I didn't immediately move to follow, unsure what I was supposed to do now. He stopped me in the parking lot when I moved to head over to my car since we had to drive separately and I was parked a few rows away from his car.

'You were suspended, one too many problems this year. Come straight home, okay.' He signed with a little shake of his head. I nodded, not really surprised by the outcome then walked to my car while he got in his.

I used the ride home to steel myself for whatever it was my dad planned to say, but I still wasn't ready when it began and I doubt I ever would.

'You can't push her away anymore.' Dad started in immediately, flatly staring at me from across the kitchen table where our conversation was taking place.

'It's my choice.' I insisted slumping down in my seat as I signed it.

'Not when it's destroying you. I let it go before since you were willing to go back to school. I hoped things would get better on their own, but they didn't,' he signed wearily, looking much older than usual as he rubbed his eyes.

'What do you want from me,' I finally signed with a sigh after sitting there for a few minutes watching him.

'You can't keep up this zombie thing.' That was a bit hypocritical coming from him. Then he added, 'if for no other reason than you start paying attention in school… turning in that note, come on, Levi.' I winced knowing how idiotic that had been, for more than just myself too.

'What did you tell them?'

'You turned in the wrong assignment and that was part of an extra credit project you were doing to bring up your English grade.' That was such a simple explanation and one that sounded completely reasonable, so why hadn't I thought of it?

'Thanks.'

'Why are you refusing to let Krista be in your life?' The abrupt subject change threw me. I'd let my guard down talking about my mistake at school and was unprepared for him to ask that.

'I'm scared she'll get killed,' I signed simply, it was the easiest thing to say and it summed up a lot.

'There are a million ways she could be killed—' dad started, but I cut him off.

'But none of those would be my fault! If she gets killed because of what I am, it would be the same as if I killed her myself,' I signed wildly then slammed my fist against the table wishing he would go back to leaving me alone.

'If you're convinced you wouldn't survive her death now, when you aren't together… then why _not_ be with her and spend what time you have being happy and actually living,' dad signed, swallowing hard several times and blinking repeatedly as he asked.

'I don't know if I can,' I signed shaking my head dejectedly. This was all stuff I'd heard from Solace recently, but it was harder to pay any attention to it when he said it.

He'd been coming over once or twice a week to offer me advice, but each time he came over it took longer and longer for his smile to fade if he'd just seen Maddox. It killed me to see him so happy, but it was even worse knowing he still doubted her and couldn't quite bring himself to hope things would work out when she wasn't around. I was scared things would be like that for me too.

'You can't let what happened control how you live the rest of your life or let fear stop you from living at all.' He had a point and I was really taking his words to heart, it was too hard not to after seeing her again today.

'I'm trying not to, but it's so hard sometimes.'

'Of course it is, but please don't let it stop you from being happy. I want more for you… I can't lose you too and think about how keeping Krista out of your life also hurts Melody.' It hurt seeing my dad's pain so openly like this and being reminded how unfair I'd been to Mel by doing this.

'I'm still scared she'll get hurt because of me,' I admitted, looking away as I formed the words because it was easier. When I looked back dad was crying.

'Don't worry about that. I promise we'll protect her. I won't fail you this time.' His eyes locked with mine as he signed this, his tears coming faster with each word. I walked around the table and hugged him tightly, letting him cry on my shoulder.

When he pulled back, I made sure he was really looking and seeing me before signing, 'you didn't fail then either, dad. There was nothing you could have done. It was his choice and knowing it would kill him wouldn't have stopped him. Mel and I would have done the same.' He hugged again and neither of us let go for a while.

I left the house after dad and I finished speaking still a little uneasy with my decision to at least try with Krista, but committed to see it through. As I ran towards Forks, I was surprised to detect her scent coming from a lot closer than that, somewhere right here in La Push. Following the trail, I was shocked to end up standing across the street from David and Trisha's house and to find her with Jesse and Seth.

Moving out of sight, I watched David and Trisha get home a few minutes later. Krista didn't stay much longer after that. Instead of following her, I waited where I was for Seth, who had escorted her out, to approach me once her car was out of sight.

'What was that?' I signed impatiently, needing to know why she'd been with them and if she was okay. Seth smiled indulgently, in a very understanding way.

'She's confused… she feels the connection, but you disappeared.' He signed getting straight to point, which I appreciated.

'She does? Is she okay,' I questioned excited by the prospect then worried that I'd unintentionally hurt her. 'What'd you tell her,' I signed curious to know what he'd told her if this is what they talked about.

'She's fine and of course she feels it… they always do.' He gave me a pointed look for not realizing this sooner, because it was true. 'Jesse and I told her about Dev and said that sometimes you and Mel have a harder time dealing with the anniversary and this was one of those times.'

'Mel never told her,' I asked in surprise and he shook his head. 'Did you tell her anything else?' I was relieved when he again shook his head.

After my conversation with Seth I ran to Krista's house for the first time in months. That evening I resumed by post as guardian and protector from my former position in my preferred tree behind her home. I stayed up all night, absolutely captivated by the sight of her sleeping figure, unable and unwilling to tear my eyes away from her for even a second.

~x~*~x~

15 November 2041

Tonight I was spending time with Melody, just the two of us, no imprints. Since I was back to spending every free minute I had stalking Krista, I hadn't seen Mel at all. She'd been waiting for me when I got home from school today and convinced me to go out for pizza with her at Little Danny's Pizza, so we could catch up on everything happening in each other's lives.

It hadn't taken much arm twisting to get me to agree, it had been too long since we've done this and we both missed it. I didn't mind at all and as hard as it was to be away from Krista now that I was finally around her again, I felt that I had a lot to make up for recently where Mel was concerned.

We'd ordered two large Irish named pizzas each and I had just taken a bite of the first slice from my second when Mel brought Krista up, asking, 'since you're not resisting Krista anymore, does that mean I'm allowed to hang out with her again too?' I winced watching her grease coated fingers signing the very thing I had been working up the nerve to apologize for.

'Yes… you know, I really am sorry,' I signed contritely, our food forgotten for the moment. It hadn't been fair of me to ask her to give up their friendship when I knew how close they'd become and I felt horrible about doing so.

'Forget it. It was you that had me so upset,' she signed quickly with a sympathetic smile.

'Are you mad at me about that?'

'No, of course not. I was worried about you. I love Krista and I miss her, but you're more important to me.' She signed sincerely before reaching over to squeeze my hand lovingly.

'You would have stayed away for good?' She smiled charmingly, her eyes gleaming mischievously when I asked that.

'Yes, if that's what made you happy, but it wouldn't have. You need her. That's part of why I like her so much, I see how perfect you are for each other.' Her words fanned the flaming hope burning within me, helping it grow brighter.

'You think so?' She just rolled her eyes at that. Eager for her advice, I asked, 'is it going to be hard to get her to give me a chance… and how am I supposed to try? She still won't understand me.'

'Stop worrying, you know she will. As for talking to her, you have options, pick one already,' she signed with smirk that let me know she'd pick for me if I didn't.

'Minx,' I accused making her laugh just I smelled Krista and turned to see her standing in the door staring at me intently.

Her hair was in wild disarray, blanketing the shoulders of her belted wool coat which was the color of snow peas, her rosy cheeks glowed, kissed by the cold autumn wind. She tilted her head and smiled sweetly at me as she snagged the edge of her perfect, pink lower lip with a single pearly white tooth, before being pulled over to a table by Sabrina, who was standing beside her and hadn't spared a glance in my direction.

'Did you know she was coming?' I asked Mel when Krista looked away to follow Sabrina, but she denied any prior knowledge and I could tell she was being honest.

She talked to Sabrina and the dark haired guy with them for a second then left them and her coat at the table. She walked over to the line of people waiting to order and looked back towards me when she reached it. I stared at her, thinking how cute she looked with her pink lips slightly parted like that.

Her attention was diverted when two girls joined her and they began conversing. Whatever they were saying made her blush an alarming shade of red and her facial features fall in resigned disappointment, but she didn't really say anything herself. Confused, I looked to Mel in order to find out what was going on.

A frown formed on Mel's face as she watched the two girls talking to Krista, looking more unhappy with each passing second. I snapped my fingers in her face twice to make her look at me.

'What? What's happening?' I signed, too worried and curious not to ask.

'They're being total bitches to her.'

'What'd you mean, what are they saying?' A haze of rage descended after hearing that, infiltrating my entire being and muddling my mind. My steady breathing morphed into short bursts like a bull preparing to charge the matador.

'They're making fun of her for looking at you, saying she'd never have a chance because…' Mel signed while watching them, but trailed off and looked back at me. Her words increased my rage.

'Because?' I prompted, needing to know what else they were saying. It killed me that someone could be mean to Krista. I wanted to hurt them for being so cruel to someone who couldn't possibly deserve it; she was too good and kind to ever be anything other than loving. I needed to defend her, to do something to show them how wrong they were.

'Because she's never even kissed a guy before,' she finished angrily. That wasn't what I expected to hear and I stared at Mel utterly stunned. 'Levi, you have to do something about it! I can't…. me, going over there would just make it worse,' Mel implored, but I was already standing up by the time she finished.

I strode over, quickly sliding into the space between Krista and her antagonizers, maneuvering with the ease of NYC cab driver in rush hour. I saw the surprised recognition on her face a split second before my left arm slipped around her waist while my right hand cupped the back of her head to pull her to me, bending down to reach her sooner.

The touch of her lips against mine ignited a fire that instantly burned the fog from my mind making everything painfully clear. I let myself savor the firm press of her smooth moist lips against mine, the unique flavor of coconut and orange that burst in my mouth as my tongue traced the seam of her lips, the tip dipping between them for a moment. Taking in how soft and silky her hair felt between my fingers and how her back arched to press herself closer against my chest, smashing her breasts between us and allowing me to feel the hammering of her heart, but only for a moment.

This was wrong. Not at all how her, my, our first kiss should have been. There was nothing remotely romantic about this situation. I didn't even know if she wanted me to kiss her, she could hate me for taking advantage of her. Then I realized how tightly I was holding her, hard enough that it had to be hurting her. I pulled back horrified at the possibility and disgusted with myself for the mess I was making of everything yet again.

Her eyes were huge and glazed as she looked up at me and for once I couldn't read them at all. Not knowing what else to do, I turned to race outside, pushing each of the girls with her roughly aside as I went.

I ran, getting all the way home before I stopped. Reason returned as soon as I stepped inside the house. Shit! Why did I run like that? Now she's going to think I'm even crazier than she must have already. I sent Mel a text and sighed when she responded saying Krista was already gone so I shouldn't come back and that she'd see me tomorrow.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	18. The Power of Knowledge

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think. I really hope you like this chapter and that it was worth the wait, thanks for sticking with me!**

**Also, SweetlyBroken33 made me an awesome banner for this story, so I am going to set up a photobucket account to post that and a few other things later this weekend. Look for that on my profile in the next day or two!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my beta, yay4shanghai, for always being so supportive and helpful, you're wonderful!**

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The Power of Knowledge

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6 November 2041

I checked the address I had written down earlier with the one on the mailbox before going up to the door on the yellow house with the white shutters and knocking twice sharply. Surprise was one way of putting it when one of the many overly large, russet-skinned men that seemed to inhabit La Push answered the door.

"Um, is Jesse here or do I have the wrong house?" I asked him, confused because I hadn't expected her to already have company when I asked to speak to her.

"Come on in, she's just trying to convince Sammy to get off the phone with Fynn because it's time for bed." He said chuckling a little and ushering me in. I nodded like that made sense to me even though it didn't and tried not to worry about him being here, because it was too late now. "I'm Seth by the way."

"Oh, uh hi, Krista," I told him as I walked in, realizing he was Jesse's boyfriend. She'd told me all about him when we'd hung out before, but I hadn't met him formally.

"She's in bed, although I don't know how long that'll last." Jesse announced coming into the room then, saving me from trying to make small talk. "So what did you want to talk about? Is something wrong?" She asked me sounding concerned as she sat down next to Seth on the cream sofa.

I took a couple deep breaths then started, "well, umm… you see, I was uh, wondering if everything was okay with Melody." I wasn't really sure how or what to ask now that I was here, but I wanted to make sure her absence wasn't because something had happened to her, which I quickly explained, "I—I haven't heard from her in a while and I wanted to make sure nothing had happened. I was worried."

"She hasn't been around lately, but I think she's fine," Jesse replied. If Jesse hadn't seen her either, maybe she wasn't avoiding just me, but everyone.

"Oh. Then did I do something to upset her? I would never—" I started to say, needing to make sure I hadn't upset her somehow anyways, but Jesse cut me off.

"Of course you wouldn't. She's not mad at you or anything like that, promise," she insisted with a grin.

"Then what's going on?" Jesse and Seth looked at each other for a moment when I asked that, communicating something I wasn't privy to.

"Did Mel ever tell you about what happened to her brother?" Seth spoke up asking from beside Jesse. So far he'd just been quietly watching us.

"Levi?" I asked puzzled by his question. He chuckled lightly before his face took on a more somber expression that looked a bit out of place on him.

"No… their other brother, Devlin." I was intrigued and when I shook my head he explained. "They were triplets, very close, but there was an accident and Devlin was killed. It was five years ago this past August and they saw it happen. They've never really gotten over it, but this year was a little rougher than usual on them."

"That's horrible. Are they okay? Can I do anything to help," I asked after taking a moment to process what he'd said and the two of them smiled sadly at me. It made sense for why I hadn't seen them though. I can't imagine loosing either of my sisters or Bree.

"No, they just need some time. They'll come around sooner or later," Jesse said casually.

"They? No, I—umm, well I…" I fumbled to reply then gave up and trailed off at Jesse's pointed look, calling me out on the lie.

"Levi isn't really use to letting new people in, but if you're interested in him at all, don't give up." Jesse advised me frankly.

"Don't worry, things will work out. Levi's a great guy and he likes you. He just needs to work past some things right now, so give him a little more time." Seth added when I just stared at them perplexed.

We didn't talk about it anymore after that. They had unraveled part of the mystery Levi presented. Not all of it, but enough for me to be content, for now. I stayed and talked with them a bit more, but left when Jesse's brother, David, and his wife Trisha got home. Bree was waiting for me when I got back.

"How'd it go?" She asked, immediately pouncing on me with questions when I walked into my room.

"It was good. Did Beth tell you where I was going?" I asked a little surprised that she already knew and that she was here tonight. She'd been sleeping at her house a lot more lately because it was easier to stay out late and for Baz to sneak in.

"Yep, so what was going on and what are you going to do now?"

"You know…" I trailed off staring at her in bewilderment like she had just claimed to be a talking kangaroo.

She just rolled her eyes at me, explaining, "please, Kris. I know you better than anyone. Mel doesn't seem the type to just disappear without reason and you needed time to figure out that you didn't want to lose her and Levi. I've been waiting for you to do something about it."

"Oh. I'm surprised you haven't been pushing me yourself," I said slightly astonished as I sat beside her on my bed.

"Like I said, I know you. Would my pushing you have made you admit it any sooner?" She didn't wait for me to say anything, already knowing the answer. "Exactly. It took Beth and a heavy dose of guilt to goad you into action."

"Hey! I have been learning sign language this whole time," I informed her, a little disgruntled that she thought I'd been doing nothing.

"Well, I didn't think you were spending _all_ that time locked in here doing something _else_ with your hands," she teased, laughing at my incredulous expression. Reaching behind me, I grabbed a pillow and smacked her with it to shut her up.

We only talked for a little while after that, just long enough for me to tell her about what Jesse and Seth told me then she'd left to meet Baz and I'd gone straight to sleep feeling relaxed, like I'd just spent a day at the spa.

~x~*~x~

15 November 2041

The last few days had been easier since I spoke with Jesse and Seth and I slept better than I had in a while, although I couldn't quite shake the feeling that it wasn't entirely because of what they said to me. Then again, maybe it was simply that everything had actually succeeded in driving me insane. Tonight I'd let Bree talk me into getting pizza with her and Baz.

The second I walked in I felt him, my eyes instinctually seeking him out and hungrily drinking in the sight of him as I'd longed to do for months. He was even more perfect than I remembered.

It was like my gaze triggered something in him because his head immediately turned towards me, moving so fast I swear it blurred. Our eyes barely had time to meet before Bree was dragging me to an empty table by the arm I had linked with hers, oblivious to the inner havoc my insides were currently undergoing at the intensity of his gaze on mine as he followed my progress with a predatorily desire that made me feel trapped.

My speeding heart raced faster and louder than Thumper's foot in Bambi when I realized I was relieved he was looking at me like I was the prey he was hunting for his next meal, because right then, all that mattered was that he was here and his eyes were glued to me. I quickly offered to order for us and left my jacket at the table, heading up to the line at the counter, eager for an excuse to get closer.

I was staring at him again, our eyes locked shamelessly; and didn't notice Nikki and Kai standing beside me until they spoke.

"Now he… is hot! Think I should introduce myself? I wonder what it would take to have him drooling all over me," Kai said to Nikki while sizing Levi up. I couldn't help wondering if he would go for someone like her as I looked her over myself, Nikki catching my eye in the process.

"Not much, but Kai, I think Krista saw him first," Nikki told her with a nod in my direction making Kai look at me as well.

"Well, well. So you actually _are_ interested in guys. I was beginning to wonder." She mocked and I ignored her, looking away hoping that would be the end of it, but they didn't drop it.

"I guess that's a yes. Looks like you've got some competition, Kai," Nikki joked.

"Yea right. Do you honestly think he'd ever go for you? Well, do you?" Kai asked me disdainfully.

"Probably not, Kai," I admitted with a sigh, mortified and blushing scarlet, the feelings making me nauseous. The only thing keeping me there was the fact that Levi and Mel were across the room and had no way of knowing what was currently being said and because he wasn't looking over at me anymore.

"Of course not. You've never had a boyfriend. You wouldn't know how to get a guy or what to do with one once you had him, especially not one that good looking," Kai taunted arrogantly.

"She's right, Kris. You should aim lower. You've never even kissed a guy after all." Nikki said sympathetically, backing up her friend, but still trying to be nice, which was more than Kai was doing.

"Thanks for the advice, but I wasn't planning on trying anyways, so you don't need to worry," I claimed feeling totally defeated. Maybe I was just setting myself up for disappointment.

"Worry? I wasn't—" Kai started, but was cut off by Levi suddenly standing in between us.

I looked up at him in surprise a split second before he pulled me to him and kissed me. It started and ended so quickly, too quickly, I barely had a chance to enjoy the velvety softness of his thick lips or taste the combination of my coconut lip gloss and his orange and tomato when my lips parted under the pressure of his and his scalding tongue just briefly slid along my own.

The heat was intense, nearly overwhelming. His arms held me captive against his lithe body and I was thankful because they were the only things holding me upright as the blood rushed to my head leaving me dizzy. I nearly cried out in grief at the loss of his lips when he pulled back to look at me, but my head was spinning so fast I was incapable of uttering a sound.

He let go and I grabbed onto his shirt for balance, afraid to try standing on my own just yet. Looking into his eyes I was mesmerized when I saw that they weren't solid black as I had originally thought. Though they nearly were, thin bands the color of coffee beans radiated outwards from his pupils, streaking through the black. It didn't register that his eyes were filled with fear until after he'd turned and barreled through Nikki and Kai where they were watching us with flabbergasted expressions.

Nikki stumbled a bit, but Kai was knocked flat on her ass. She glared up at me like it was my fault she was sitting on the floor. I looked at the door Levi disappeared through, but he was already out of sight. Then I heard the beautiful tinkling of laughter ring out like harmonious bells. Turning towards the source, I saw Melody walking over, gasping for air as she laughed at Kai. She reached me just as Kai stormed off pulling Nikki with her. Mel's laughter died down with the girls' retreat and her uncertain gaze settled on me.

"I need your help," I implored meeting her eyes determinedly.

"Sure, anything." She said earnestly not pausing to think at all before promising.

"Good, you owe her," Bree spouted angrily at her with a stony glare and arms crossed defensively as she moved to stand beside me. I elbowed her before she could add anything else.

"I'm sorry," she whispered sadly, looking down as she spoke.

"It's fine. I understand." I assured her honestly. She looked up a little surprised, but smiled charmingly all the same.

"What do you need?"

"Help signing. I've been trying to teach myself, but I want to practice an actual conversation because I know that'll be a bit different than just learning random words." Her smile grew as I told her this and she was practically jumping up and down by the time I finished, rapidly nodding.

"I'd love to help! I'm so excited you're learning, Levi is going to absolutely die when he finds out," she exclaimed beaming her brightest smile at me.

"Please don't tell him," I begged, not really sure why, but knowing I didn't want him to find out just yet.

"Alright," she sighed. Her cheerfulness being expelled with the gush of air accompanying that single word, but some of it came back when she said, "but let's get started tonight. The sooner you learn the sooner you can tell him yourself."

~x~*~x~

13 December 2041

I let Beth style my hair and apply my make-up for the party tonight, not really paying much attention as she did. I was nervous. That was the understatement of the year, nervous didn't even begin to cover what I felt right now. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, when I'd let Melody talk me into it, but now that it was happening I was a nervous wreck.

Mel came by my house almost every afternoon to practice for a while after that day in the pizza place. Bree was trying to learn too, saying she needed to be able to yell at him if he ever hurt me, which made Mel laugh hysterically.

Once I got over hating the attention talking with my hands drew, I wasn't that bad at it. I still got distracted and occasionally had a hard time keeping track of what was being said or what I was trying to say, but I was rapidly improving. It was easier if I didn't have to spell anything. My spelling was already atrocious and it was easy for me to get things jumbled up when I tried to spell words, which was extremely embarrassing. It was one of the reasons I wanted to practice with someone else and get used to trying to have a conversation before considering attempting to talk with him.

Then Mel had shown up about two weeks ago enthusiastically informing me, "my brother is being a stubborn ass. You'll have to make the first move, but don't worry… I've already got everything worked out."

My first instinct had been to defend him, insisting he couldn't be, but she'd just laughed, swearing he was then explained her idea, telling me about how Jesse's birthday was the day after mine and we were going to have a joint party to celebrate and that I should talk to him there. She assured me Jesse was excited about doing it and that she'd talked to Emily, Jesse's mom, and already worked out all the details.

Talking to Jesse put any doubts I had to rest and Mel made me realize that it might actually be fun to surprise him by being able to sign when I saw him there. She'd also promised I'd be good enough to do it then and that it didn't matter if I wasn't because I at least needed to try, so that I could finally put her brother out of his misery, whatever that meant.

Once I got to the party it was actually pretty fun. He wasn't there yet, so I had a chance to relax a bit. I stayed close to Mel and she introduced me to some of the people I'd seen, but hadn't gotten a chance to talk to before. After maybe an hour I worked my way over to one of the windows in their family room, periodically looking out in hopes of seeing him approach so that I had a chance to prepare myself before I made my move.

About twenty minutes ago, I'd looked out and found Levi, but he wasn't heading inside. Checking again, for at least the tenth time since, I saw he was still out there. At first I'd thought it would be better to wait until he came in to try talking to him, but the less than subtle looks, pretty much every person in the overcrowded and overheated room were giving me each time I looked outside the window I was stationed in front of, lead me to believe I wouldn't get any privacy trying to talk to him in here. With that firmly in mind, I grabbed Mel and headed out back dragging her along with me.

"Need a pep talk?" She asked grinning once we were outside.

"Yes, please." I begged blushing a little at the fact I was being ridiculously nervous about what I was planning to do. I was so distracted that I'd even forgotten to grab a jacket before running out of the house.

"You really don't have anything to worry about," she rushed to tell me, reminding me of something I'd been meaning to ask her about, but hadn't managed to yet. This seemed as good a time as any.

"Can I ask you something," I asked tentatively biting my lip and fidgeting a little.

"Of course," she said surprised, leaning back against the house.

"Why are you so sure? You have been since I first met you and it doesn't really make sense," I said uncertainly shaking my head a little and tucking some hair behind my ear shyly as I thought about all the times she encouraged me to be with Levi.

"Does it matter?" She asked quietly tilting her head a little and her eyes assessing me intently.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"I mean… is there anything I could tell you that would change how you feel or make you not want to talk to him?"

"No," I answered immediately, not even needing to think about it. "So there is something then?"

"There wouldn't need to be for me to see that no one could ever be better for my brother than you," she said sincerely smiling kindly.

"You really think so?" I asked, touched by her words.

"Yes, I do… now go talk to him already. I'm sure he'll appreciate being saved from Solace," she said laughing a little, her eyes shining in excitement as she pushed me towards the side of the house. I took a deep breath to pull myself together and started walking that way, wondering how she knew he was still outside or that Solace was with him. It also didn't escape me that she never actually answered my question, just evaded it. "And Kris," she called making me stop and look back at her. With an impish smile she told me, "ask me again in a week if he hasn't told you by then."

Well that was interesting, I thought walking around the corner of the house in a daze, but the second I saw him I forgot all about it. Continuing forward, I saw Solace smile and say something to him before slowly walking away with a barely detectable limp.

It was like I was caught in a tractor beam, being pulled forward as I made my way over to Levi. He turned around just as I reached him. His ebony hair was wild like he'd been tugging on it recently and shoulders were hunched slightly like they often were when I saw him, but every time I looked at him, I swear he became even more gorgeous and I couldn't help smiling at the shocked expression on his face.

'Thank you for coming tonight,' I signed carefully, not knowing what else to say to get started. His jaw dropped as he gaped at me and his eyes widened into perfect circles showing a great deal of the whites of his eyes. I'd seen this expression on him before and scared, I added, 'don't run,' reaching out to grip his thin navy sweater when I finished, hoping to hold him in place if he had been thinking of doing so.

He stared down at me intently, his hands moving slightly then pausing. I looked back down at them, focusing on seeing what he was about to say. 'N-E-V-E-R, E-V-E-R A-G-A-I-N,' he spelled out slowly, making sure I had no trouble understanding what he was trying to say. I grinned up at him in relief and he returned my smile with a brilliant one of his own then slowly asked, 'you learned, why?'

'For you.' I answered simply. His expression was awed as he looked down at me. No one had ever looked at me like this before and I was blown away by the emotions it invoked within me. I couldn't even begin to describe them.

'You are amazing.' He signed with one hand, shaking his head slightly as if he couldn't believe I would do something like that for him and his other came up to lightly cup my cheek.

His hand was so warm. It instantly sucked the cold I hadn't noticed seeping in from my skin. I was standing so close his whole body seemed to radiate a degree of warmth I basked in and his eyes were smoldering as he stared at me. That more than anything reduced the affects of the frosty winter night and it did crazy things to my stomach, making it hard to concentrate.

I tugged on his shirt with the hand still holding it, trying to make him look down again so I could say something. It took a moment, but finally his eyes traveled along my body and I shivered at the action, until he was looking at my free hand again. Whatever I originally planned to say was gone, erased from my mind.

'Kiss me,' I commanded him instead, signing the first thing I thought of.

His eyes flew back up to meet mine, but I knew I had said the right thing when his look turned even more heated. Maybe that was what I'd planned to say all along after all, because I realized that now that we could talk, we didn't need to. I already knew everything I needed to about him just like he was already in possession of the intrinsic knowledge of what made me, me. The rest would come later, in due time. Right now, I just wanted him.

This time was completely different than the first. He moved slowly, sliding the thumb of his hand still holding my face across my lips, catching on the bottom one slightly as he stepped closer. He kept his eyes locked on mine as he used his hand to tilt my head further back, wrapping the other around my narrow waist, reaching far enough around to grip my hip with his large hand. My hands ran up his chest, my arms just long enough from me to grip the back of his neck and guide his head down to reach mine.

The touch of his pouty pink lips felt like being immersed in a dream of fluffy clouds, gentle and soft. It was slow and timid at first as we hesitantly learned the feel of the others' lips then gradually morphed into more, hungrily tasting the other when our lips parted and our tongues became involved. His sweet tasting mouth was hot and delicious and I explored thoroughly, seeking more. Nothing else could ever possible taste as good.

I tried to pull his powerful body closer, but I wasn't strong enough to move him. Instead, he tightened his arms, moving me flush against him and straightening so I was lifted until my toes barely brushed the ground. I felt secure and safe in his arms as if I was right where I belonged. This was everything and I couldn't believe I'd waited so long to experience it. I'd wasted so much time, but he was worth it.

When our lips finally broke apart I saw that it had started to snow, the flakey puffs of white sprinkling the night darkened sky, disappearing before they reached Levi, vaporized when they hit an invisible barrier surrounding him like a space shuttle trying to reenter Earth's atmosphere. It was an utterly cliché moment, but completely perfect nonetheless.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	19. The Beginning of Happiness

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think. I really hope you like this chapter and that it was worth the wait, thanks for sticking with me!**

**Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy and working on Mel and Annabelle's stories instead, but I'll try to get another chapter of this up soon. **

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my beta, yay4shanghai, you are completely amazing!**

* * *

The Beginning of Happiness

* * *

13 December 2041

'Don't run.' Krista's fearful plea froze me in place like nothing else possibly could have. I hadn't actually even considered running, too stunned by the fact that she was able to sign. For a moment, which lasted at least an eternity while I hovered suspended in time, I could do nothing except stare at her in awe. If she wasn't more breathtaking than the sweetest mirage I'd ever managed to conjure up of her, I'd swear I was dreaming or hallucinating.

As if that hadn't been enough already, I was further tethered to her with more invisible, though no less unbreakable cables, by her restraining grip on my cable knit sweater and the fear radiating from her eyes. I could have easily broken free from the weak grasp, but I had no reason to ever consider doing such an abdominal thing and her action made my heart soar, lightened by a significant dose of hope and love.

Her fear, however, was disarming. I had caused that, unintentionally yes, but it was still my fault she felt such an emotion at all. That meant it was up to me to dispel it and I wanted to reassure her, let her know how I would do anything she ever asked of me, but it was still too soon for her to believe that, I needed to prove myself first. I could start by promising not to ever run again and I knew I wouldn't. That would be an easy promise to keep and I would happily make it if that was all it took to banish the scared look in her eyes and replace it with the thrilled and nervous excitement I had seen when she first approached me less than a minute ago.

I didn't know how much sign language she knew, so I spelled the words out slowly, 'N-E-V-E-R, E-V-E-R A-G-A-I-N,' making sure to pause for a few beats between words. I watched her carefully and though I knew she had understood, her smile telling me as much—a smile I couldn't help but return, I was also able to decipher that she didn't care much for spelling words out. Knowing that, I decided to sign as I normally would and only resort to spelling if we came across a word she didn't know, that is, if we continued talking at all, but why had she learned if that was not her intention? I asked her as much, 'you learned, why?'

'For you.' No two words had ever touched me as those did. She didn't know me, but she had been willing to learn just for the chance to get to know me, despite the fact I had made no effort to communicate with her over the past several months.

In fact, I realized what a damn fool I'd been with my firm refusal of every single ulterior method of communication that had been suggested. My conviction that she would be unreceptive, possibly even unwilling, to take on the difficult situation I presented her with was apparently ridiculous as she so thoroughly showed me this evening. I don't know why I ever doubted her or us, as I'd been told so very many times recently, she's my imprint, my perfect match, so of course she would do this for me. I didn't deserve her, that much was obvious, but I couldn't care less anymore—there was no way I was letting her slip away now.

Shaking away that line of thought, I focused on the enchanting angel before me, though a wood nymph might be a more accurate description with her sweetheart neckline, fitted strapless dress in a deep forest green, the two white orchids in her hair and her dark brown heels. She was a vision, plain and simple.

Her expression had indeed changed, though not by reverting back to its previous look. This was completely different, a look I had scarcely let myself dream or hope to ever see from her, let alone to see aimed at me. Her eyes were molten desire, swirling pools of glowing green absinthe, promising something vague, undefined. Something I know I had never experienced before, though I longed to with every fiber of my being.

The temptation they, and she in general, presented me with became too much to resist and I reached out, reverently caressing the soft skin of her cheek, which blazed red from the winter's biting kiss, while telling her, 'you are amazing.' I had never managed truer words in my life.

We were barely speaking, yet it felt as though a million thoughts, emotions and memories were being communicated with every glance now that our eyes were unguarded, freely exposing our deepest thoughts for the other to discover. There was no need to hide anything now and I suddenly didn't want to, nor did I want her to and luckily she didn't. Her eyes and face were unbelievably expressive, like a map of her soul and I was fortunate enough to hold the key, which allowed me to read her with an unprecedented ease.

The array of emotions crossing her face was captivating and I was so absorbed in watching them that I almost missed the gentle tugging of my navy sweater. I was thankful I hadn't when I raked my eyes down the luscious contours of her inviting body and saw what she had to say.

'Kiss me.' Two simple words, like her 'don't run' from before, only these had had an even more powerful affect on me for their unexpectedness. They hit me with the force of a freight train, straight in the gut, or possibly lower… my addled mind seemed to be initially mistaking my body's reactions, taking a few extra seconds to sort things out.

The end result was the same, however. I was so bowled over that I almost didn't believe it and I could tell that it wasn't what she'd planned to say, but instinctively I knew that once it was out there, she'd meant it anyways. Something, probably the wolf in me, recognized that she wanted me to, nearly as badly as I already wanted to. She was giving me an opportunity to redo our first kiss and I intended to make it everything the other should have been. It was a blank slate, though I still hoped that like a blank slate, you'd still see what was there before because I didn't want to forget the previous kiss, I never wanted to forget any interaction I had with her, I just wanted to improve the kiss. I wanted to make it perfect, to set the tone of our relationship.

I was getting ahead of myself, just because she wanted to kiss me didn't mean she wanted forever with me, and that was fine if she didn't. As long as she was happy, I was as well, but I secretly hoped I would be enough for her to never want anyone else. I wanted to use this chance to show her how I could inspire intense and wonderful emotions within her, the same as she did for me, and have her somehow intrinsically know that it wasn't possible for anyone else to ever complete her as I could.

Taking my time, I tenderly traced the outline of her lips while maintaining eye contact and moving towards her with a distinct deliberate intent that caused her breathing to speed irregularly, evident by the heaving of her breast, which strained against the fabric of their green encasement. With the hand cradling her face, I angled her chin upwards as the other encircled her slender body, guiding her to me where she pulled me down to greet her eagerly waiting lips.

My lips moved timidly at first in my inexperience. Gradually, it became about learning her lips and the sensations ignited by joining them with mine, the perfect satiny texture, the give of their rich plumpness and the sweet coconut taste. I explored the cavern of her mouth like an adventurer seeking hidden treasure and I felt sure I found my reward when it caused her heart, which was thumping against my chest to race at the speed of a hummingbird's flapping wings. She was irresistible and when I realized her enthusiasm rivaled my own, I needed her closer, as close as physically possible.

I pulled her harder to me, eliminating the unneeded and unwelcome space between us and her arms locked around me as if she wanted to put as much of herself in direct contact with me as I did with her. She fit against me in a way I didn't know was possible, every curve settling into the crevasses of my body like she was made just for me or I for her and I realized again that that was precisely the case—she was my imprint and I was made for her.

When it ended, I saw that Krista looked like she was covered in a light dusting of powered sugar, which combined with her rosy cheeks made her appear positively delicious. I wanted to sweep her back into my arms, taste her again and never let her go, but I realized she wasn't wearing a coat and must be freezing right now.

'We should go in before you catch cold. Come with me?' I signed it so quickly I knew there was no possible way she had followed along, even Taylor would have had trouble, but almost immediately she smiled and nodded, somewhat unsurely but a nod all the same, then trustingly took my outstretched hand. That, more than anything else so far this evening, touched me in a way which caused me to melt into a garbled puddle of love struck goo at her feet.

Eager to continue where we left off, I quickly led her around to the front of the house using my body to block the wind from where I felt her close behind me, absorbing the heat radiating from my body. The instant I opened the door, all eyes turned towards us. I felt Krista step closer, further out of sight, apparently embarrassed by the extra attention. Not wanting to stop and endure their questions (I was absolutely positive they'd all been watching out the window once Solace returned to tell them what was happening) or subject her to their scrutiny, I urged us forward. My nosy friends and family parted like the Red Sea to let us pass. I was probably walking too fast for her, dragging her in the wake of my long strides, but Krista was smiling when I glanced behind me, heading for the stairs.

I didn't have a destination in mind when I'd moved us inside, but now I was dead set on finding some privacy for us and that would be easiest in one of the empty rooms upstairs. Hurriedly pulling her through the first open door I came upon, I shut it behind us and turned to face her, absently noting the two twin beds proclaiming the room to be formerly occupied by Mark and David when they'd lived here years ago. That was forgotten though when my eyes fell upon Krista's upturned face and broad smile, her features all clearly displaying happy amusement.

Overcome by the knowledge I'd made her smile in such a way, I swept her up against me as I'd wanted to outside, spinning in circles with her legs dangling several feet off the ground. Her arms banding around my neck and the vibrations I felt from her chest pressed high against mine let me know she was laughing at my antics, which caused my heart to swell and my body to tingle like my skin was calling for more of her touch—a continuous supply if at all possible.

Tilting my head back to see and confirm the reality of it being her in my arms, though I knew no other could make me feel this way, I found Krista grinning down at me. My breath caught when I noticed how her emerald eyes sparkled, I was certain she'd never been more beautiful than she was right then and I was fairly sure I'd expire on the spot when she leaned down to kiss me. It took a great deal of concentration, which I somehow managed to scrounge up from some unknown locality, to remember how delicate her body is and not squeeze too hard.

I was disappointed when after some indeterminable amount of time she pulled back abruptly, looking towards the closed door that was now slowly opening to reveal my uncle Mark, whose knowing grin irked me more than I'd like to admit. His rotten timing was not appreciated now that I finally had Krista where I'd spent six months longing for her to be.

Reluctantly, I set her back on her feet while shooting an angry glare at Mark, to which he responded by laughing. Everyone seemed to be deriving a great deal of amusement at my expense lately and no one seemed affected by my ire, apparently I just couldn't portray a fearsome individual or formidable foe.

'What?' I signed shortly, unable and honestly not bothering to hide my annoyance when forming the jerky hand motion. Mark just continued laughing for another minute before sobering just barely and grinning unabashedly.

'Use it well,' Mark signed with a wink before throwing one of Jordan's notebooks, which had a pen wedged into its spiral wire bindings, at me. I looked up at him in surprise, wondering how he'd gotten it, but his rumpled appearance and incorrectly buttoned shirt made it easy to figure out the answer to my unasked question. Since he and Jordan welcomed Hazel into the family they'd had to find their… tender moments where they could, though I could smell that they hadn't had sex and I seriously doubted they ever did at such a public event. 'She is still learning.'

'Thanks.' Despite my annoyance, I was touched that he'd gone to the effort of getting this to help me. He might not be the Alpha any longer, but he still got the urge to help others out when they needed it, particularly family or those he considered to be.

He started to walk back out after giving Krista a nod of acknowledgement and I vaguely wondered when they'd met and how he knew that she was learning at all, but he just smiled at me when I raised a single eyebrow in question. It also had me curious to know how many people were in on it and keeping it from me. One glance at Krista was all it took to realize that it didn't matter, I was just happy she did know.

That was all forgotten with Mark's parting shot. 'And stay out of that bed… I've already lost one as a casualty to another couple's blooming love,' he teased nodding at the bed we were standing beside.

'Bye now,' I signed giving him my fiercest scowl as he backed out with his hands held out like he was warding me off, but he was grinning all the same. I was worried he had embarrassed Krista with that comment, though I needn't have—she really was prefect like that.

'Your uncle is funny,' she signed carefully once the door was shut, moving to sit on the forbidden bed anyways. I nodded taking a seat beside her as close as I dared. We might have kissed, but this was our first real conversation and nerves gnawed at my insides till my stomach twisted painfully and I fought to ignore it. 'What was he talking about with the beds?' She looked genuinely intrigued and I grinned wondering what she'd think of the tale.

'This was his and David's room. David and Trisha had sex in his bed once and broke it.' Her surprise was apparent and I watched as her hands seemed to flutter before her briefly, but her expression turned uncertain and she began worrying her bottom lip with her bright white teeth. I guessed she didn't know how to say what she wanted to, nerves scattering her thoughts too much as they were for me, so I offered her the notebook Mark had given us and was rewarded with a luminous smile when she took it. I'd have to thank him and apologize for my rudeness later.

_**But she's so quiet and tiny compared to him! I'm shocked he didn't break her instead if they were going at it that hard!**_ I watched as she wrote it, so her effort was useless when she tired to cover the words up afterwards, looking slightly surprised and flustered by what she'd bluntly written. She hesitantly glanced up at me, but relaxed and shrugged when she saw I was grinning at her. She put the notebook aside and bit her bottom lip, giving me a lopsided smile with her head slightly tilted as she studied me intently. 'I guess you are all that big and strong.'

'I won't hurt you,' I signed while staring into her eyes intently in order to convince her of my sincerity, hoping my rushed promise would prevent the forthcoming thoughts I assumed she'd be having now after acknowledging the significance of that truth in relation to herself.

Before this moment I hadn't believed I wouldn't hurt her, especially unintentionally. It had been like a looming black cloud, tainting every move forward I attempted with her, but making that adamant vow caused me to be certain in a way that was wholly unfamiliar to me prior to this. My vow was like a scientific law rather than a mere theory, proven to hold up and be true no matter what, like the law of gravity, not just true with a few exception or until it failed a new test.

This conversation actually succeeded in removing a huge burden I had been carrying around by pointing out yet again how ridiculous I was being with regards to my terrifying fear of harming her because of her size and fragile body. Many of the imprints, Trisha, Claire and Annabelle among them, were similar in size to Krista and they never got hurt when interacting with their wolves, even when it involved a vigorous round, or should I say multiple rounds, in bed. That knowledge helped me relax enormously, which left me open to better appreciate her response.

'I know.' She hadn't needed to even think before replying.

'How?'

'I just do.' She felt it, the imprint. Seth had told me, actually I think everyone had at one point or another, but it was different getting the confirmation straight from her even if she didn't fully understand the connection or the importance her words had had for me. When I continued staring at her, too awed to know what to say, she took that to mean I wanted her to elaborate and she added, 'I can feel it, with all of me. I see it too, in everything you do. And I hear it in how your family talks about you.'

Her simple explanation floored me even more and I couldn't resist kissing her, drawing her closer to me till she rested in my lap. I marveled in her eager response, immersing myself in the sea of emotions she invoked. There weren't words to describe my joy at finally being able to touch her whenever the urge became too great to ignore or I just felt like it. It was even better that she felt comfortable enough to do the same with me.

~x~*~x~

'You are getting good.' I signed a few hours later. Our time had been spent discussing whatever came to mind as we got to know each other during the random intervals between intermittent make-out sessions. We were sitting facing each other in the center of the bed, me cross-legged and Krista with her legs to the side because of her dress.

She tired to sign most of the time, only using the notebook when she didn't know a word and always having me show it to her afterwards. I loved teaching her new words and being able to shape and position her long slender fingers, amazed by how I could enfold her cool small hand completely within my own. She really was getting better the longer we sat here. Once her nerves dissipated and she stopped over thinking every gesture, the motions came to her very naturally and we were able to fluently converse in a remarkably smooth manner. I would have cared if it hadn't, but this was a welcome surprise. She didn't have the speed my mom and Melody had, but I could tell that would easily come in time after a bit more practice, which I was more than eager to supply her with.

Talking to her was so different from talking to anyone else. For the first time I didn't feel like information was being unwillingly pried from me, but that I was offering it freely. More than that, a torrent of cascading words flowed from me like a waterfall rushing to get out. I wanted to tell her every one of my thoughts, I wanted her to know and understand me. It actually felt like there was a driving force, something primal within me, the wolf I guess, demanded I reveal my very soul to her and that I search hers out as well.

It was after midnight and I knew the party was over, only a few guests including Seth, Paul and Rachel were still around. We hadn't rejoined the group, both agreeing that we'd prefer to spend the night isolated in this room than mingle with the others, and by that I mean be interrogated on everything that's said between us as well as take a fair bit of good natured ribbing for having wasted so much time needlessly agonizing over how this would play out. I was prolonging our departure for as long as possible, dreading the end of the night when we'd have to goodbye. Without a doubt I'd watch her from my tree, but that just wasn't the same as being able to freely touch her.

'What?' Her nose scrunched and her brow crinkled adorably with her confused question.

'At signing,' I clarified. 'I still can't believe you learned for me.' It wasn't as hard to admit that insecurity as I'd figured it would be. Our conversations had stayed fairly light up till now, but this really hit on some strong emotions.

'Why not?'

'It is hard to believe you would have an interest in me when you could have anyone and without all the trouble.' I searched her eyes as I signed that, feeling constricting bands contracting around my chest while I looked for any indication that she wasn't really interested, that I was too much of a hassle for her or that she'd rather be with someone else because her needs were more important than mine—there were none. The bands quit tightening, but remained while I waited for in suspense for her reply.

'No,' she paused too stunned to continue, shaking her head to rid herself of the apparently mind boggling blow my words had dealt her. 'You—you don't see yourself clearly. I would never want someone else and it is not trouble if I can be with you.' I felt the bands shatter with that acknowledgement and I gulped a deep lungful of refreshing air then another immediately afterwards.

'I… you have no idea what that means to me... I only want you.' I didn't know what else to say, but apparently that was enough because her face shone with enough happiness to make me feel like the world had tilted on its axis leaving me lightheaded with my mind spinning wildly.

We sat just looking at each other for a few minutes, both content with the idle moment, using the time to process the evening. Eventually, I signed, 'I can give you a ride since your car is at my house.' She'd left her car there earlier before riding over with Melody and Taylor. I borrowed Sam's truck since I hadn't driven myself. He just shrugged, unconcerned, and waved me off when I promised to return it first thing in the morning.

At my house we ended up kissing beside her car for about ten minutes before she broke away. 'I don't want to go home. This night has been perfect,' she signed biting her bottom lip adorably and reaching out to grip my sweater, a gesture I found more endearing each time she did it.

'Don't.'

'What?'

'Stay here—I don't want this night to end either,' I signed then brushed a strand of her hair that had come loose back behind her ear, hoping she'd agree to my request, my heart pounded while I waited for her to decide. The nervous excitement I felt at the prospect was reflected back at me from her eyes letting me know she wanted to and would say yes, especially after she grinned a minute later.

'Alright, let me call home real quick.' I led her in while she spoke with her parents. I knew my parents were here and that they could hear us, but thankfully they stayed in their room.

She was off the phone by the time we reached my room. I was a little nervous to be showing it to her. The only girl, besides Mel, to ever be in here was April Crawford, Leah's stepdaughter, and that had been one of the several times she'd snuck in here to make out with Dev during a pack party. I stood in the center of the room while she looked around, but she didn't really. Her gaze fell upon the black walls and she reached out and gently touched the space beside my closed door with the tips of her fingers then came to me.

Krista stood on her toes and moved to pull me down the remaining distance for a sweet and very tender kiss. The tight pain that was always present in my chest eased a fractional amount. She was like a balm to my broken, frayed soul, the understanding in her action healing more than any amount of time or love from my family ever could. When she pulled back, she didn't mention it and there were no questions asked though I knew she was curious and I was tremendously grateful.

'They didn't mind you staying with me?' I questioned to ease us past the previous moment, stepping backwards so I could see her and motioning her to follow as I led her to my bed to sit down.

'I said I was at Mel's. I just didn't mention I was with you, not her,' she signed with a carless, faux-innocent shrug.

'Will they be mad if they find out?'

'They won't find out, Bree will help,' she assured as she sat next to me. My heart sped at the proximity.

'You two are close.' It was a statement, but she responded anyways.

'Like family. I'm all she has,' she signed with a warm smile. I could feel the love she felt for her friend, her words were unnecessary to explain it because their bond was apparent in every inch of her being and every expression on her face as she thought of her. I could only wish to generate a similar response one day.

'I want to get to know her then, for you.'

'You mean it?' Her eyes rounded indicating her amazed disbelief for a split second before she smiled widely, the edges of her kiss-swollen lips curling upwards. I wanted to tell her that of course I meant it, that it was the least I could do for her and that I wanted to do so much more, but instead I just nodded.

'Are you busy tomorrow? We could spend the day together,' I suggested unconsciously leaning towards her, already missing the feel of her lips pressed against and desperate to touch her again. I don't know what I'd do if she already had plans. We'd just spent an entire evening together with hours of talking and rather than feel satisfied, I craved more, if that meant spending time with her friend then sign me up. I didn't care what we do or who was with us as long as I was allowed to be in her presence.

'Not busy—that would be great,' she signed and I released an enormous relieved sigh, not realizing beforehand that I'd been holding my breath while awaiting her answer.

She giggled and scooted closer, trailing a hand down my chest, which caused me to shiver. It was as if she had as much trouble not touching me as I did her and that thought made me grab her. I pulled her against me and swiftly covered her mouth with mine, sucking on her sweet lip for a moment before sliding my tongue between her lips. My hands gently ran up and down the sloping indent of her sides before settling on the swell of her hips.

Her hands slipped under my shirt to trail up my chest and my grip on her tightened, holding her firmly against me. It felt like flower petals lightly brushing my skin when she dragged her nails across my chest and I honestly felt like I had chills for the first time in years. I nipped playfully at her lip and felt her moan into my mouth arching towards me. If I were a starving man, one taste of her would be enough to keep me going for another year. She pulled back to gaze into my eyes and after a time, she caught my attention to sign.

'You feel so hot. Does this make it worse?' She reached out, her hand shaking slightly as she gave my sweater two tugs to indicate what her question was in regards to. I swallowed thickly before slowly nodding while I watched as the pulse in her neck quickened. When I met her assessing gaze, I became still, sitting like a marble statue while her eyes searched mine, but less than a minute later, it was me trembling as I lifted my arms for her to steadily lift my shirt and pull it over my head.

She'd risen to her knees to be able to reach and she was directly in front of me, my lips level with her collarbone, which I dipped forwards to kiss, my lips hungry to taste her flowery-scented skin. She stilled, not moving an inch as I let my hands meander up her body to cup her breasts. I felt how it made her inhale sharply, which caused her chest to expand and her breasts to push into my hands more and I responded by squeezing them gently. She brought her hands up to cover mine, holding them where they were as she dipped down to resume our kissing. I leaned back against my bedroom wall and she reclined on top of me.

I broke off after a time, afraid of pushing her too far too fast. Her innocence matched my own, so this was uncharted territory for both of us and I didn't want to rush the new experiences for either of us, they deserved to be savored.

We were both breathing hard and her smell was nearly irresistible as were her dilated, lust-filled eyes. In search of a way to distract us till our emotions had a change to calm down, I signed, 'do you want me to find something of Mel's for you to sleep in or do you just want a pair of my boxers and a shirt?'

'Yours… if you don't mind,' she signed nervously as her brow wrinkled and she bit her lip.

I nodded immediately, thrilled that she wanted to and quickly retrieved a set of clothes for her. While she changed in the bathroom across the hall, I slipped into a pair of boxers myself since I hadn't been wearing any beneath my jeans, habit from being a wolf. When she returned I realized this had been a bad idea for a break if the intention had been to calm my desire for her, because seeing her in my clothes the complete opposite, especially when she grinned shyly from the doorway, the light reflecting from her now loose hair making the long golden curls shimmer like rays of sunlight.

Forcing my thoughts away from how the too large shirt clung to her curves, curves I had just had my hands all over, I asked her about her plans for the rest of break. We spent the next hour or two talking, discussing school, where I found out her favorite subject was biology, the same as mine, but she was best at math because it came naturally to her, particularly statistics, though she found all of it boring, and plans for break, including her excitement over her sister Angie's expected visit.

'You're tired,' I signed after her third yawn in the last ten minutes and she nodded sheepishly. 'Sleep, I'll be here when you wake up.'

'Okay,' she agreed gifting me with one more kiss then letting me pull her to my chest, her head resting on my shoulder and our interlocked hands over my heart.

My other arm was around her waist and I moved it so she could see my hand when I asked, 'are you comfortable? Not too hot?' She shook her head and lightly kissed my shoulder to assure me she was fine. I stayed up for as long as I could after that, mesmerized by the feel of her gentle breathing blowing across my chest and her soft curves pressed perfectly against my body. This had been, beyond a doubt, the greatest night of my life—completely worth the wait.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	20. Breakfast with the Family

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! **

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**My beta, yay4shanghai, completely rocks! Thanks so much for everything, you're amazing!**

* * *

**Breakfast with the Family**

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14 December 2041

A reddish-brown haze flared behind my closed eyelids trying to force them open. I resisted as Morpheus, the God of Sleep, beckoned me back down the River of Oblivious and into the sea of dreams where I was reliving the grand experience of the previous night's events. The haze was persistent, however, and my eyes became restless, resulting in my expulsion from the realm of illusion. I kept my eyes glued shut as I worked to uncover the reason for my sudden wakeful plunge after such a brief rest.

It was the bright, early morning sun streaming unexpectedly onto my face through an uncovered window that woke me, but it dawned on me that my window didn't face the rising sun and I quickly assessed the other details I could gather without looking. Only a thin sheet covered me, but I was blissfully warm, wrapped tightly in a pair of hot, muscular arms with my cheek pressed to a defined chest, the scent of pine filling my nose when I inhaled.

Levi. I remembered now. Each moment of the last twelve hours was permanently branded to my mind, never to be forgotten. I savored the thoughts, replaying how I came to be here, in bed with him in amazed disbelief. I never could have foreseen last night turning out like this, though every tingling nerve in my body cried out in euphoric delight that it had.

A smile spread across my face as I noted how his body felt even more perfect this morning than it had last night. I had forgotten just how nice it was to wake up in his arms. My memory of that time at the beach hadn't done the experience justice. I could hear the steady rhythm of his beating heart and it was more relaxing than receiving a massage at a day spa.

I'd felt like an entirely different person last night and I loved that he brought this new and exciting side out in me. I grinned fully, hiding my face against his chest as thoughts of how I'd freely kissed him and stripped his shirt from his body bombarded my mind gloriously. A second later I felt his hand come up to brush my hair back. He was awake. I sat up slowly, reluctant to withdraw from his addictive embrace and soothing warmth, but I felt a more pressing urge to see his face.

'Morning,' he signed with a wide grin that lit up his features with such intensity that he appeared to glow from within, his radiant joy producing a flaming light all on its own. 'Did you sleep well?'

I nodded before admitting, 'I was afraid last night was a dream.' I was really hoping that didn't sound too cheesy or that my confession didn't freak him out like I knew it would most guys, but for some inexplicable reason I felt I needed to tell him and that he wouldn't react the same as others typically would.

'Me too.' I let out a relieved sigh at finding that out, though I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath. 'Are you… happy it wasn't?' He'd signed the words hesitantly, yet it was strange to me that he even needed to ask or that he looked so unsure of my answer. I always assumed _I_ would be the insecure one if we got together, so nothing had prepared me for this and I stumbled around for an adequate response, unable to do more than nod for a few seconds.

Once I had overcome my initial bafflement, I was filled with a surge of understanding and the desire to explain that happy in no way covered the extent of what I was feeling. 'More than you know. I have wanted this—_you_ since… I first saw you,' I signed with my eyes locked on his face as he watched my hands move, adding, 'I didn't know you, but I wanted to be with you.'

'Ditto.' I loved that he used that word. To me it felt as though he thought my words were good enough at summing up what we were both feeling and that he possibly had as much trouble as I did expressing the depth of emotions we inspired in each other. I could feel the cheery glow heating my face and melting the coherency of thought from my brain as I sat motionless beneath his intense gaze seconds before he signed, 'you're so beautiful when you blush.'

He then lightly traced a fingertip over the apple of my cheek and smiled in wonderment when that made the flush even worse. The remainder of my mushy brain liquefied and butterflies assaulted my stomach with a vengeance, to the point I felt like I'd been turned into a babbling idiot or a ditzy airhead who couldn't string two thoughts together.

'I need—I—be right back.' My heart was knocking against my ribcage, hammering for release. I desperately needed a moment to collect myself before I started drooling on him and nearly bolted from the bed in relief when he nodded with a charming smile.

Opening the door, I unexpectedly found myself staring at Levi's mom, who was standing in the hallway. She was opening the door to Melody's old room with a partially full laundry basket of neatly folded clothes propped against her hip with one hand while the other was releasing the round silver handle, identical to the one I still held in my suddenly sweaty palm. The door she had just pushed swung inward, giving her room to disappear through the doorway, which she immediately did.

I was paralyzed, my feet stuck to the floor, gluing me there as efficiently as the sticky paper used in bug and rodent traps. I wasn't sure how she would react to seeing me exiting her son's room at this hour or to my being here at all. That minor detail had sort of slipped past me in all the excitement of last night.

Even if I had thought of it, I wouldn't have expected to see her this early in the morning, before I had a chance to quietly sneak out, or in Melody's room since her daughter didn't actually live here anymore. Apparently she still kept some clothes here though, and wore them often enough for her mom to have laundry that needed put away.

That thought was followed by my grip on the door faltering as the globular handle popped from my slippery hand like a wet bar of soap in the shower, causing the door to slam noisily into the wall before flying back towards me. I swiftly grabbed the edge to stop it and cringed at the knowledge that now it really was too late to think about getting out undetected because there was no way such an echoing bang had gone unnoticed. I was right, because a millisecond later I saw his mom's head pop back into the hallway.

Before I had a chance to duck back into his room, she turned to look at me. I'd only seen her twice. The first time was months ago now at the Fourth of July bonfire and the second time had been just last night at the party, but I'd been so distracted that I'd barely spared a glance at her and even then it had been from across the room. She looked even younger up close, though I'd expected the opposite, thinking it was a fluke, a trick of the firelight when I saw her on the beach. I would think her and Melody sisters if I saw them on the street somewhere, not mother and daughter. You could even argue that she looked younger than Levi, which was impossible, not to mention just plain preposterous to consider.

"Oh good, you guys are up," she said with a warm and very relaxing smile to which I responded with a dumbfounded nod.

"I—umm, well you see… I was just…" I trailed off trying to explain my presence, but having no idea what to say. I watched her smile grow while I stuttered through my unintelligible explanation.

"Are you hungry?" She asked casually brushing past it and I was rather stunned by her calm acceptance and friendly welcome like she had been expecting me to be here all along when I knew this was out of the ordinary for her.

"A little," I replied automatically, thinking how surreal the situation seemed just then. I nearly jumped out of my skin, startled from my trance-like state when I felt Levi step up behind me, his movements swift and silent.

My hand moved to cover his when he wrapped his arms around my waist and dipped his head down to kiss my neck, his heat and the touch of his lips causing me to sink into him, using him for support. Being in his arms was like plunging into the ocean during a hurricane, powerful waves of emotion churned through me and I was swept up in their intensity. It required my entire focus and I gave it gladly, forgetting about everything else. I was a little startled to hear her speak again, my attention so thoroughly captured by Levi's consuming presence.

"Melody called. She and Taylor are coming for breakfast." I opened my eyes to see that she was signing rapidly as she spoke and I smiled gratefully, my head still too mushy and scattered to attempt interpreting anything right now. "You cooking?" I felt Levi nod against my neck, kissing the exposed skin there once more and squeezing my waist briefly before releasing me, slipping past as he headed to the kitchen. I watched him walk away, entranced by his stealthy grace until I heard the quiet chuckle drawing me back to the present.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Krista. My kids have mentioned you quite a bit," she said genuinely and I detected this kind of… energized undercurrent surrounding her, barely held in check like she was trying not to burst at the seams as excitement bubbled up within her, threatening to spill over. It was something I always noticed about Melody too and a little from Levi last night. I noted how he and Melody had her eyes and smile, though those seemed to be the only features they'd inherited from their mom.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Varn," I managed to force out while cursing my shyness as I felt the heat of my embarrassment flood my cheeks with a telltale blush for the second time this morning.

"Please, just Anna… we aren't formal around here and I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future," she predicted with a playful wink.

"I hope so," I whispered thrilled at the idea, excited she thought it was likely and that she was evidently okay with that happening.

"Me too," she finished honestly.

I didn't bother changing out of my borrowed clothes, just tied the loose white shirt in a knot at the small of my back to keep the collar from slipping off my shoulder, exposing more than intended and to get the extra material out of the way before heading to the kitchen to find Levi and see about helping him make breakfast.

'Do you like bananas and walnuts in your pancakes?' Levi signed when I came in the room and I didn't follow, but I got his meaning when he indicated the ingredients resting on the wooden countertop. I felt my nose crinkle instinctively when I saw the walnuts, having always hated them, but I quickly tried to hide it not wanting to be rude.

'Yeah, that's—' I started to sign, but Levi must have noticed and correctly interpreted my reaction because he shook his head before I finished, turning to replace the nuts in the cabinet and going to the fridge where he pulled out a container of blueberries. He held them up in question and I nodded vacantly, feeling slightly embarrassed and guilty that he was catering to my desires like this. 'You really didn't need to switch things for me,' I told him, signing as he walked backwards so he could watch me.

'It's no trouble,' he replied shrugging and giving me a lopsided smile as I gathered the plates and silverware stacked on the counter, intending to carry them to the table.

"I prefer blueberries myself," I heard someone say casually over my shoulder and I quickly spun around to see who was standing behind me. It was Levi's dad. I hadn't seen him yet this morning and his sudden appearance reminded me that he knew I'd stayed here last night and that I was currently standing in his kitchen, barefoot and wearing his son's clothes. He easily lifted the heavy load from my arms saying, "I've got it."

"Thanks," I murmured nervously glancing past him to see Levi watching us intently, almost expectantly. That served to fuel my worry further because I understood how important it was to him that I get along with his family. And while Anna might have liked me immediately, that didn't necessarily guarantee her husband would as well and I wasn't sure I was making much of a good first impression.

"Michael," he offered in greeting with an amused smile, his eyes conveying an unquestionable approval that instantly dispelled my fears.

His infectious smile encouraged me to relax and let myself be thrilled about how this morning was turning out, so I was grinning when I replied, "Krista."

'Are your parents always so cool?' I asked Levi when Michael headed to the table with the dishes; Levi smiled and nodded, obviously relieved.

I moved to help him, but he stopped me with a kiss, pinning me back against the counter with his arms on either side of me. Running my hands up the smooth skin of his bare chest, I felt him shiver, though he didn't feel cold at all. Quite the opposite in fact and I giggled realizing I had that great of an effect on his body. He pulled back smiling, but I grabbed him, urging him back down for another sweet kiss before we got back to work.

It was probably the most fun I'd ever had preparing a meal. I cut up cantaloupe and honey dew melons for a fruit salad one of his parents had already started while he scrambled some eggs and made blueberry pancakes. He kept me laughing the whole time as he showed off his skills, flipping multiple golden-brown circles like a circus juggler and managing to catch all of them every time while posing in awkward positions. Sometimes he'd even flip them and succeed in catching them with his eyes closed and in almost no time at all we were finishing up.

"You're here! I _knew_ you would be," Melody exclaimed as she came barreling into the house, practically flying through the living room and into the kitchen where she stopped directly in front of me giggling and bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. She'd arrived just in time to eat.

Levi came up beside me, shaking his head at her and grinning. He bent down, kissing my cheek before ruffling Mel's hair playfully and darting past her when she took a swipe at him. Once he was out of the room, I noticed Taylor casually propped against one of the counters, his eyes never leaving Melody and his expression stated clearly that he thought she was the reason the sun rose each day. I really hoped I was lucky enough to have that with Levi because I could already tell he was worth waking up with every morning.

"It was almost impossible to keep her from coming over here hours ago to see if you were here," Taylor announced with an exaggerated sigh then shaking his head, though clearly amused by her behavior.

"I'm sure you didn't have too much trouble distracting her," Anna said dryly as she came into the kitchen to grab the pot of coffee and a couple mugs, which she carried to the table, pouring a glass for herself and Michael.

"I managed," Taylor shrugged carelessly, giggling and pulling Melody to him for a sweet, lingering kiss that after a few seconds looked as if neither of them would be stopping anytime soon.

"And I can tell you just hated it," Michael added joining the teasing as he took a sip of his black French vanilla flavored coffee, it's rich aroma permeating the kitchen air.

"Of course he did," Mel broke away to reply saucily and everyone laughed, myself included as I enjoyed catching a glimpse of their family's dynamics. It was interesting to see how they interacted with each other, the easy friendships and bonds between them that were obviously more than just the typical parent, daughter and daughter's boyfriend camaraderie.

Levi reappeared then, my eyes searching him out the moment he became visible, rounding the corner approaching us. The obsidian chips of his eyes were focused on me ignoring the others as he stalked forward, his body fluidly moving like water flowing over smooth rocks in a swift stream. He'd put a shirt on and I longed to take it back off as I mourned the loss of such a perfect sight that I had been able to leisurely enjoy only a few minutes ago.

'Make sure you get what you want right away or they'll eat it all… we have big appetites,' he signed stopping in front of me and I heard Mel snort behind him, but I barely noticed, distracted by the way he was looking at me. His gaze held an overwhelming intensity and I honestly couldn't tell if he'd really meant what he'd said about the food or if he was implying a hunger for me.

He leaned towards me slightly, unmindful of his family present, avidly watching us. I forgot them too as I felt like I was under a spell, someone else controlling my body when I reached for him. My hands wrapped around his neck dragging him towards me. His hands came up to rest on the indent of my waist, hauling me closer as his scorching lips came crashing down on mine, capturing them heatedly. I couldn't suppress a moan when I tasted the tangy orange juice on his tongue as it plundered my mouth urgently.

"And I thought we were bad." I absently registered Taylor joking from somewhere nearby before Levi stumbled into me. His arms went around my waist, holding me to him so I didn't teeter backwards and fall over.

I clung to his broad shoulders while hearing Anna scold Taylor though I couldn't see them, Levi's body blocking my line of sight. I honestly didn't mind, nothing could be more appealing than the sight of him and I was grateful for the few extra seconds it gave me to get my breathing and heart rate back under control before I had to face the others, though I knew there was no hope of hiding the bright red hue painting my face.

I really don't know what came over me to make me do that other than Levi being completely irresistible, but even then it felt like I hadn't had a choice, like it would have been physically torturous if I'd gone another second without touching him, tasting and reveling in his arms. It was strange, but I didn't mind in the least, which was just as odd to realize.

Breakfast was an entertaining affair, very different from the quiet mornings I was used to at home, but a welcome change of pace. I didn't feel like an outsider, which surprised me. They put me at ease immediately, though I was still too shy to contribute much to the conversation myself, content to spend most of the time just observing them and laughing at their jokes.

I really appreciated that they spoke while signing and made an effort to sign slowly for my benefit. I was also relieved that no one seemed to mind when the conversation faltered because Levi had stopped paying attention to his speed, giving me a chance to work out what he'd said. It also helped that Mel would verbalize what he said occasionally when I got tripped up over a word. I resisted asking her to do so more often, focusing on trying to learn and getting used to conversing with multiple people at once without getting lost.

The only time I really said anything was when the conversation turned to the subject of me learning sign language, Levi asking his parents, 'did you guys know Melody was teaching Krista to sign?'

'Jordan told us about it last week,' Michael signed chuckling a little and Anna tried to hide her own laughter, but Melody didn't refrain from letting hers bubble forth, filling the air like the spray from a shaken bottle of pop unexpectedly opened. I groaned and blushed yet again for what felt like the hundredth time since I'd woken up when I realized what story they must have heard to find it so hilarious.

'What? What happened?' Levi asked looking around for an explanation, his gaze settling on me and waiting patiently for me to share it with him, which I did with only a little reluctance.

'I was watching Eli and Hazel with Melody at your uncles' cabin. We were practicing and I messed up, forgetting the middle part of a sentence and ended up signing something like, "would you do me," to Eli.' I stopped there, trying to keep it as brief and straightforward as possible so as not to convey how mortified I'd been when it happened and I watched Levi's eyes sparkle as he grinned, amused by the tale despite me leaving out the part I'd imagine the others found so entertaining.

'It was really funny. Jordan and Mark were standing right behind her and she didn't know then Mark told her that Eli was a little young for her, but that you wouldn't object if she asked you!' Melody added still giggling as she watched her brother's reaction to hearing that. I saw the splotches of pink flare up high on his cheeks, but he didn't do anything else except look towards me again.

I covered my face. At least she didn't add the part about little ten year old Eli practically demanding that I do sign that to Levi, even offering to remind me how it went or draw it out for me so I'd be sure to get it right when I did. That had been the true mortifying part, but it really didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. I was just embarrassed now because we were discussing this in front of his parents considering I had only met them this morning.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Trust me, that's not that bad… at least you never got arrested!" I heard Taylor say laughingly, trying to reassure me. I glanced at him in confusion and it lasted all of a second before Levi threw his fork at Taylor's head, which I watched him snatch out of the air with an stunning swiftness, not batting an eye or even looking toward the oncoming projectile before deftly deflecting it. Levi had a disgruntled look on his face that promised vengeance and I got it, understanding that Levi had recently been arrested and from the line of conversation I figured it had something to do with me.

'Please don't ask,' Levi signed with a pleading expression when he noticed the curious glance I was aiming at him. I nodded letting the subject go, but privately hoping he'd tell me about it at some point because I was very interested to know what he could have done to land him in jail.

I stayed for a while after we finished breakfast, Michael and Anna with some occasional help from Taylor regaled me with tales of the sorts of antics Levi and Melody got up to as children. I wasn't quite sure how Taylor could remember the times so well considering he couldn't be much older than them, though maybe I wasn't a very good judge of age based on looks if their parents were anything to go by.

I finally headed back home around lunchtime after making plans for Levi to come over in a couple hours, calling Bree on the way to spill, telling her all about the night before and this morning. She'd been at the party, so she knew something happened, but I filled her in on the details from after I went upstairs with Levi then asked her about doing dinner with us tonight to which she immediately agreed.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	21. New Situations and Holding Back

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! **

**Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is by far my favorite holiday so I decided to update earlier than planned as a treat for you!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, and intiMACYx33. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks yay4shanghai for always being such a wonderful and encouraging beta. You're amazing and I appreciate it so much!**

* * *

**New Situations and Holding Back**

* * *

14 December 2041

When I got home only my dad was around since mom and Beth had gone to Port Angeles for a shopping excursion that I had declined participating in. Beth was trying out for the spring play at school after winter vacation and had decided that she needed new clothes so she could start getting into character before auditions started. Mom was indulging her by letting her pick out a few things, which she would then wrap and give to her as Christmas presents.

"Hey, Cricket," he greeted using the pet name he'd given me as a child, turning off the TV he'd been watching when I walked in and giving me his full attention. "How was your birthday party?" He asked wrapping an arm around my shoulder to pull me in for a one armed hug when I sat next to him on the couch.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed dreamily, resting my head on his shoulder and he chuckled.

"Yeah, what was the best part?"

"I… umm, well actually I wanted to talk to you and mom about that," I started nervously sitting up to look at him seriously, shifting a little and fidgeting with my dress, bunching the material in my tightly closed hand then smoothing it out before fisting it again.

"Okay…" he prompted nodding his head for me to continue, obviously confused, but willing to patiently wait while I quickly thought about what the best way to approach this would be.

I wondered if I was jumping the gun at all, but remembering the way Levi looked at me last night then again this morning before I left, like it was painful for him to let me leave even knowing that it would only be for a couple of hours, lent my decision all the support I could ever need.

"It's kind of a favor—a big one, and I… its really important to me that you say yes," I insisted getting a little ahead of myself without realizing it. I didn't even want to consider what I'd do or what it would mean for me if he refused.

"Of course, you know your mom and I will do whatever you need us to, but maybe you could tell me what it is I'm agreeing for us to do," he promised with an indulgent smile that did little to mask the amusement in his kind blue eyes, which were unusually bright, like cotton candy or a clear summer sky.

"Right," I laughed awkwardly, releasing the anxious breath I'd been holding. I'd forgotten that part in my hurry, too preoccupied about if he'd be willing to do this for me. "I want you to learn sign language," I informed him quickly.

"Sounds like a simple enough request," he remarked slowly while studying me intently like I had suddenly become a huge mystery, but if he looked hard enough, he'd find the answer written somewhere on my face. "What prompted this, why the big need for us to learn?"

"There's a guy, that I guess you could say I'm… seeing," I said tentatively, my mouth struggling to form the unfamiliar words that didn't quite fit. It seemed like such a gross understatement to describe what I felt I had with Levi, doing little justice to the bond we'd forged, but it was the best I could come up with to share with my dad.

"How serious is this?" I knew he was confused because this was the first he was hearing of it and this was a lot to ask for, both time consuming and challenging, especially if there was a possibility things wouldn't last long enough to expend the energy required to learn.

"It's serious," I said confidently, instinctively knowing that this was the right thing to do and that I was correct in saying it was serious. Our… relationship might appear to of started last night, but it had really begun that day on the beach when our lives had first become entwined. "He's unbelievable. I can't even begin to tell you how incredible he is, he's also deaf, but I want you and mom to be able to know him. I want you to still be a part of my life," I explained in a rush, feeling how thoughts of him warmed me and made my stomach flutter.

I was so distracted, caught up in the new sensations I was feeling, that it took me a couple seconds to notice the sad or possibly nostalgic look he was giving me. Then it registered what I'd said, or rather how I'd worded it. That I still wanted him and mom to be in my life with Levi, not that I wanted to bring Levi into my life. He had already become the number one person in my life, before family and friends if necessary. It had been an unconscious decision and the transition had been executed so swiftly and flawlessly I didn't even realize it happened. I didn't regret that it had, nor did I plan on fighting it. This felt too right, like it was preordained… fate.

"He must be really something to make you smile like that, Kris," he said thickly with a small smile and I hugged him tightly.

"He is, Daddy," I whispered in his ear, my words weighted heavily with significance and the array of emotions I felt just then.

"Who is he?" Dad asked after finally releasing me and relaxing back into the couch, getting comfortable to hear all about him.

"His name is Levi Varn. He lives in La Push—you've seen him before," I told him animatedly, warming up to the subject and excited to talk about Levi. I'd kind of started to feel like I would explode if I didn't get some of it out so I was grateful for the excuse.

"The kid that was hanging around the store all summer," he asked and chuckled when I nodded. "Seems like a decent guy. From the rez, huh? There's a few interesting people out there. Varn… Varn… is he related to Jordan and Mark?"

"Umm, yeah, he's their nephew. How'd you know?" I asked slightly taken aback. I hadn't expected my dad to already be familiar with his family.

"The store," he said simply. I should have known that. "They've been shopping there for a number of years," he said thoughtfully with a contemplative look I couldn't interpret, but he shrugged it off after a few seconds, adding, "speaking of, I need to get going. Sorry to cut this short, will you be home for dinner? We could talk more then."

"No, I made plans," I said apologetically. "If it's alright, can I stay with Melody again tonight? Bree's staying there too," I lied staring at him expectantly, this way I'd be free to stay with Levi again if he wanted me to.

"Sure. Have fun tonight and I'll let your mom know what we talked about."

"Thanks, Dad," I said hugging him goodbye then ran upstairs to shower and change before Levi got here.

Levi showed up about thirty minutes later, just as I finished pulling on a light knit sweater with my dark blue jeans. He paused in the doorway when I opened it to let him in, shyly signing, 'I'm early.'

'I don't mind. No one else is home.' I saw a smile spread across his face at the implication of that statement and I was a little surprised I'd managed to be that bold, but I didn't regret it as I led him up to my room figuring it was only fair considering he'd shown me his.

I stopped in the center of the room, feeling though not hearing how he shadowed my steps. His movements really were silent. I'd noticed how quiet he was this morning, but it became much more apparent when I actively listened for him yet still failed to hear him. I turned to face him, finding him as close as I'd expected.

He didn't spare a glance to view my room, his gaze focused too intently upon me, his eyes seeing nothing else and I returned his unwavering stare. The house could have crumbled around us and we'd have been none the wiser. His eyes said so much. I could spend hours delving into the shadowy depths, learning the secrets they willingly revealed.

When he finally kissed me, I felt the ground shift beneath my feet, throwing me against the stable pillar of his body. He kept me anchored to the broad expanse of his chest, sliding the satiny pout of his lips over mine in a tender, exploring caress while we were transported to a world I'd previously only dreamed existed.

We spent the next couple hours wrapped up in each other, locked in a private enchantment where we were able to continue enjoying our newfound freedom to touch and kiss without fear of rejection or talk at our leisure.

It was late afternoon when we ended up on my bed, though I'm not sure who initiated that development, too distracted by… everything about him and the reactions he sparked in me. He rested on top of me, supporting his weight on his elbows, which were resting beside my shoulders, caging me in like velvet covered steel bands. I had never experienced the pressure of a male body lying over me and he was heavy, but it was nice. My skin tingled everywhere our bodies touched and because so much of it did, my skin felt alive, vibrating like a rocket about to explode, humming with pleasure.

His massive hands weaved through my hair, delicately cradling my head in the heat of his palms, keeping it locked to his as I sampled the sweet nectar of his mouth. Slipping my tongue between his dewy lips, it was greeted by his where it was eagerly awaiting, ready to dart forward and meet me halfway.

The heat was incredible. I couldn't comprehend how it was possible or spare a thought to if I should be concerned about how much was radiating from him. I was much to busy enjoying how it increased the sensitivity of my skin comparable to a raw, pink area that has been recently singed, only pleasurable, and how it made my head spin like I'd just gone three consecutive rounds on a carnival ride called the scrambler, but without the accompanying nausea you got from also having overindulged in junk food.

I spread my legs for him to rest between them, the action bringing his pelvis in contact with mine, rubbing against me as he settled into the v I'd created for him. I gasped into his mouth clutching at him frantically, eager to feel more of that exquisite friction. My hands found purchase on his lower back beneath the hem of his shirt and I urged him against me, rocking my hips up against him.

He tensed, stilling entirely, his lips now motionless against mine as not a single muscle in Levi's powerful frame moved. I froze too, fearing I'd done something wrong, but then I felt it, or rather, I felt _him_. His fiery hot, hotter than any other body part, thick and rigid member pressed firmly against my most intimate spot. My eyes shot open and I found that his were squeezed shut tightly causing his skin to crinkle at the corners and his face unbelievable red, flushed with embarrassment.

I gripped his back tightly, telling him silently that I didn't want him to go anywhere and I felt my hips undulate against him, pressing and rubbing against his length, trying to show him it was alright and that he shouldn't be embarrassed because I wanted him to react this way, to be sexually attracted to me. It worked, because a second later he responded in kind, grinding himself against me and kissing me with more passion than I knew existed or that I was capable of experiencing.

I was eager to explore this side of our relationship, to feel these new emotions because I… desired him then. Not the vague longings that stirred my heart I had grown used to feeling for him, no—this was much more than that. I wanted him, fiercely. I wanted to touch and taste him, to know him intimately. My body craved it, pushed me to seek more. I could feel it in my core, a warm rush of desire between my legs. I had never felt like this, I could barely catch my breath and I could feel his heavy breathing above me. No sooner than I thought that he pulled away, quickly rolling to my side.

I sat up on my elbows to look at him, concerned and utterly confused about what just happened. He was on his back with his clenched fists pressed against his eyes not breathing. I watched for a couple seconds and saw his nostrils flare before his closed fists balled further. Sitting up a moment later, he released a deep breath and looked at me with a small sheepish smile.

'I'm sorry. We have to slow down. I don't want to take advantage of you,' he signed by way of explanation of why he'd stopped so suddenly.

'You aren't.' He snorted quietly when I said that and shook his head slightly like he was knocking a stray thought loose. I didn't get it so I asked, 'is that all…' I trailed off and gestured to him lying beside me rather than on top of me as he was before. He looked surprised and nodded insistently moving to kiss me again. It was chaste and sweet, nothing like before, but still I felt reassured, though I knew he was lying about that being the only reason he'd stopped.

'We should get going to pick up Bree,' he signed and I realized it was later than I thought it was.

Dinner with Bree went really well. She and Levi got along and genuinely seemed to like each other as far as I could tell. Bree still didn't know very much sign language so Levi had me interpret, which was an interesting challenge considering I occasionally still needed an interpreter myself. He was really sweet about it though, patiently understanding and encouraging. I'm not sure how well I would have done if it'd been someone other than Bree, but maybe over time it'd get easier, especially if I kept practicing.

Bree left shortly after we'd finished eating, apologizing for having to bail since she'd already made plans to spend the rest of the evening with Baz, but promised to hang out again in the next couple days.

Levi took me to Taylor and Melody's house after that. It was the first time I'd been there since Mel usually took me to her parents' house when we hung out, something I was just realizing as being part of her plan to find situations where she could throw me and Levi together as often as possible. The four of us spent the next couple hours hanging out and playing poker, which I totally dominated since Melody didn't cheat this time. I gave her a hard time about it, but she still swore she was innocent, though not even Taylor bought it.

It was pretty late when we left, not noticing the time passing because we'd been having far too much fun though I was utterly exhausted after getting almost no sleep the night before and being up so late again tonight. 'Stay with me again tonight?' He asked when we got to his car.

'I was hoping you'd ask,' I signed openly confessing how much I desired to spend the night in his arms.

'I will always want you to and I will as often as I can,' he signed with such conviction that it was impossible to doubt his sincerity or his belief that nothing would ever change his feelings for me.

A little later I felt like the luckiest person in the world having my every wish granted. I was curled up in Levi's strong, hot arms, his soft lips lightly brushing the top of my head to say goodnight. This was the only place I wanted to fall asleep in ever again.

~x~*~x~

16 December 2041

I spent most of yesterday and today with Levi again, the two of us getting lost in discovering all the different facets of our new relationship and getting to know one another. I hadn't been able to stay with him last night and I wouldn't be able to stay with him again tonight because he had to work doing some sort of patrol around the reservation. He'd explained it as being a protector, which I have to admit, sounds kind of cool.

It had been amazing, as every moment spent with him was turning out to be, but we hadn't really kissed, not really at least since the afternoon in my room. He said it was because he didn't want to take advantage of me, but he wasn't. I sensed that there was more to the problem than that because I had been more than willing when we'd kissed and he knew it. Actually, I was very willing, not to mention extremely eager, to do more than just kiss. As for how much more, I didn't know, and I wouldn't know until I was in a situation where I could find out first hand.

I didn't have experience in these matters so I was sort of flying blind on the proper way to handle this and I was certain the same could be said for him. It had also become blatantly obvious to me that I wanted him and he'd clearly wanted me too. I wanted to have a sexual relationship with him, to experience not just the new emotional intimacy we were building between us, but a physical intimacy to match. I didn't want to rush in or do too much at once, but a little would be nice.

This was unfamiliar territory for both of us, but I was anxious to start figuring it out together and that's what had me so confused about Levi's regression. Somehow I just knew he wanted more too, but was holding back. I just didn't understand why. So after he'd left for work with the promise to be careful, I'd called Melody and she'd immediately invited me over when I admitted I was calling to talk about Levi. Hopefully she could shed a little light on the subject.

"So spill, how's it going with my brother?" Mel asked excitedly the second I came inside, dragging me over to the couch in her living room. "I want to hear everything!"

"I wouldn't even know where to begin," I laughed. "Suffice it to say… you were right, he's everything I could want and I've never been happier."

"Eeeee!" She squealed bouncing up and down beside me then grabbing my hands in hers, which were as unusually warm as her brothers. "I'm so excited for you guys—you have no idea how much. Wait, what did you want to ask me about then if things are good between you two?"

"I feel kind of silly asking, but umm, well we were kissing the other day and it got a little heated," I told her wincing a little over sharing such private information with her, but she just smiled widely, her eyes glittering in merriment.

"Yeah… and…" she prompted leaning towards me like she could not wait for me to share a juicy secret.

"He stopped."

"Huh?" She said stupefied, blinking rapidly for a second before releasing a bark like laugh and admitting, "that wasn't what I was expecting you to say."

"Yeah, it wasn't what I was expecting at the time either and he hasn't really kissed me since and I'm not really sure why. He's not telling me what's wrong, but I can tell it's really bothering him and I think if I asking him about it will only make it worse," I told her quietly, embarrassed, but hoping she'll have a few ideas about what's up with him cause I didn't have enough experience with guys to figure it out on my own.

Normally, I'd go to Bree with something like this, but I was really hoping that as his sister, Mel would have a better idea of what to do or if I should be worried. She looked stumped for a second and I was beginning to think this was a bad idea and that she wouldn't be able to help after all.

"Don't worry about it. I can pretty much guarantee he'll be back to normal in a day or so, maybe even by tomorrow," Taylor said sounding very amused as he came into the room. I hadn't realized he was here, let alone that he could hear me. He and Mel stared at each other like he was letting her in on a secret, telling her something without the necessity of words.

All the sudden it was like a light came on in her head, illuminating the answer to the mystery I was still being kept in the dark about and Melody said, "oh! I think I have to agree with Taylor on this one. He just needed a couple days to adjust. He'll probably be back to normal by tomorrow or the next day." Looking back at me, she smiled kindly, like she understood and added, "this is all really knew for him too. I bet it's nothing more than him being scared of pushing you too fast and messing things up."

"If you say so," I murmured suspiciously and the look she gave me said I was right to still believe it was more than that.

"I do."

"Want my advice?" Taylor asked thoughtfully moving to sit on the arm of the couch beside Mel and drape him arm around her shoulders casually.

"Sure, why not," I told him figuring whatever he had to say couldn't hurt.

"Levi is really shy. I know you are too, but if you want more, you're going to have to initiate it. He'll follow your lead on this, but I feel pretty confident saying he won't make the first move or push for more unless you make it abundantly clear it's what you want," Taylor sagely informed me.

"You say that like it's just about me and that what he wants doesn't matter. Just because I want mo—something doesn't mean he will. I don't want to push him either." The last thing I wanted was for him to do something just because it was what I wanted.

"Kris, that boy is completely mad about you. If you want it, then you can bet he does too," Taylor said giggling like that was common knowledge and he couldn't believe I didn't know yet.

"He's right, now come on, let's watch a movie and just… try not to think about it anymore tonight," she advised so I tried not to.

I found sleep just as elusive that night as it had been the night before only now I was more fixated on Taylor's words than the fact I wasn't curled up beside Levi's comforting heat and appealing smell.

~*~ ∞ ~*~


	22. Damn Those Pesky Wolfie Urges!

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! **

**I'm sorry to admit that this is sort of a filler chapter, but a necessary set up for the next one.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my amazing beta, yay4shanghai. I really appreciate all your help and for loaning me your characters to write about!**

* * *

**Damn Those Pesky Wolfie Urges!**

* * *

14 December 2041

We were on our way to my sister's place. Driving there, which meant we were confined inside a small, ridiculously hot compartment. I think I might go insane before we get there.

I wanted to kiss her. Wanted to so bad it was almost painful to deny the urge. I had to remind myself I was driving and that I held her precious life in my hands in order to sufficiently distract myself from staring at the enticing curve of her sensual pink lips. To stay focused so my eyes weren't riveted on how they parted temptingly to allow the tip of her sweetly tropical tasting tongue to dart out. To refrain from following its gliding path as it traced over the puffy skin, moistening it nervously while signing, like she was resisting the urge to speak the words aloud instead. It was all I could do to breathe when every inhale of air carried with it her alluring fragrance, made infinitely more appealing, to the wolf residing inside me at least, because she was in heat.

I had never been close enough to her before to be affected and I wasn't prepared for the power it had over me now that I was. Consuming. I ached for her. It was everything I could do not to drag her off to the nearest empty room. Fuck, I didn't even care about finding a room. I was just trying not to take her wherever I saw and to hell with who was around watching or even if Krista wanted me to and that scared the shit out me.

And of course it had to happen now. Within a day of finally making progress, of finally having a shot with her and now I had to worry about not driving her away with the insane level of intense desire I felt for her. I was divided. Half of my concentration was spent on wrestling down the baser wolf urges while the other half was focused on maintaining a natural appearance, pretending that nothing was wrong.

I was actively blocking the memory of this afternoon in her room, of remembering the scent of her arousal and the powerful affect it had on not only my body, but my mind too. It drove my desire for her into a frenzied high. I'd been in such a mindless, feverish state that I'd feared even touching her again; least I loose control and do something I'd regret later. I had never smelled anything like it, unbelievably sweet and somehow exotic.

An image of myself relaxing on a beach, holding a hollowed out coconut shell filled with one of those blue tropical drinks, a little umbrella sticking out came to mind and I hungered for a sip. I craved the opportunity to taste the essence of her and bury myself between her legs. She was my oasis when I was lost in the desert, but right now I almost wouldn't mind if she was merely a mirage, though I'd never believe it. Her scent had far too tangible of a hold on me for that to be the case.

The letter burning a hole in my pocket was actually helping. I never thought I could be grateful to receive one like it, but I suddenly was. It was from Sabrina. When Krista had gone to the bathroom during dinner, she'd slipped it to me with the hardest, most incredibly serious expression I could ever imagine facing. She stared me down, her icy blue eyes unblinking, filled with impenetrable steel while I released a shaky breath and eventually looked down to see its contents.

It was a piece of notebook paper, torn from its spiraled wire bindings with frayed edges and folded in thirds. When I partially unfolded the lined sheet, I saw this first foreboding line of her dire warning centered in the middle of the page, the rest of the note disappearing beneath the other still closed flap.

_I wrote this because I wanted to make sure there were no misunderstandings between us on this issue. _

Opening it completely revealed the true message she wished to convey.

_You hurt her and I'll make your life hell. That's a promise you could stake your life on._

She'd smiled tightly at me when I'd looked up and I'd nodded in understanding, carefully signing, 'I won't.' She nodded, studying me intently like a judge while I was being cross examined on the witness stand.

'If you aren't sure or plan to disappear again, do it now before she knows she's in love with you,' she signed with unsteady hands that obviously didn't really follow what she was saying though she didn't pause between words and that told me she'd practiced the line and was reciting it from memory so she must have carefully picked each word at one point.

With that in mind, I kept going back to her saying that Krista was in love with me, though she wasn't aware of it yet. I replayed the words over and over in a loop, feeling my heart swell more each time. I was euphoric. It was almost impossible to contain the thrill I felt learning that, because who would know better than her best friend and closest confidant.

'I won't,' I signed again trying to convince her, daringly adding, 'I love her.' She only had time for a quick, slightly surprised, though obviously pleased nod before Krista returned and we both pretended the exchange never took place.

I think that's the first time I've ever been scared of a girl smaller than Alice and fragile enough that I could crush her with a single hand without breaking into a sweat. And I sure as hell hope it's the last time too. She was willing to give me a chance, but I still had to earn her seal of approval. Her note, as well as dinner, made me feel like I was auditioning for a part in a play. Her nod farewell let me know I'd gotten a call back, but that by no means meant I got the part.

It felt wrong to have told her that I loved Krista. I knew I did. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I did, but that was the first time I admitted loving her aloud and I should have been telling Krista, not her best friend. I wanted to, actually I longed to tell her, but it didn't feel like the right time. I felt insincere and dishonest even thinking about telling her before divulging my other secret and I hadn't even begun considering how to address that issue.

Other than that little mishap, dinner had gone really well. I hadn't even minded Krista translating for me and I guess the fact that Bree is learning to sign should give me some hope that she'll eventually like me for real and not just for show in front of Krista. I think the funniest part about her not accepting me straight out, waiting to see how I treated Krista first, was that it made _me_ genuinely like _her_ from the start. I admired her loyalty and appreciated her honesty.

Sabrina's reaction to me wasn't really all that unexpected when I thought about it some more, especially once I remembered all that Melody and Krista had told me about her. I was truthfully more surprised by how easy it had been to let Krista translate for me. Rather than feel self-conscious or guilty for doing so as I'd feared, I was mostly focused on how proud I was of Krista and how amazing she is to have learned so much in such a short time and by the fact that she was willing to overcome her own shyness to do so. It was also captivating to watch her while she processed everything and figured out what needed to be said and how, her eyes lighting up once she did. I was entranced by her endless patience and determination to succeed.

When we finally got to the house, I grabbed Taylor, yanking him just outside the doorway so we remained on the porch while Mel and Krista walked on ahead of us. He stared at me in a mixture if confusion and amusement while waiting to see what I'd wrangled him for.

'Something wrong, Levi,' he eventually signed when I just stared at him fumbling over the best way to ask him about this. Solace or Freddie would be better to talk to about this, but Taylor was the only one I felt remotely comfortable addressing this with, and he was here while they weren't.

'She's in heat,' I signed bluntly, giving up on finding a subtle approach. When he giggled, I added, 'happy to see you find my suffering so amusing,' but he quickly shook his head in denial of that accusation.

'I feel for you,' he responded though I doubted that because he was still grinning like this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. 'No really, I do,' he insisted.

'But Mel…' I trailed off uncertainly, having been sure it wasn't a problem for him since Melody was a wolf too. As awkward of a subject as it was, I really was curious for his answer.

'Before she phased… it was rough, and she didn't look like she does now,' he explained and I was genuinely surprised to learn about that.

'You never let on.'

'And neither will you—we aren't all cavemen,' he signed with a dry expression that left little in doubt concerning the direction his thoughts had taken before he clapped a hand on my back.

I knew that was a slight on David. Personally, I had no problem with David, or even Trisha for that matter. I liked them both. Neither had ever done anything offensive to me or given me a reason not to like them, though sometimes I wished they would actively teach their children sign language, mostly for Eli's benefit, but that was their choice and it wasn't my place to tell them differently.

I actually could honestly say I liked every member of the pack and their extended families. Some more than others of course, but none of them had ever done anything to make me dislike them. I also respected that others did have legitimate reasons to hold grudges—that was their business and I tried to stay out of it. As far as I was concerned, every one of them mourned when Devlin died, which was enough to endear them to me for life, but furthermore, none of them held it against me when I shut them out afterwards. That was enough for me to accept each of them as they are—seemingly unforgivable faults and all.

'It does get easier, promise,' he attempted to reassure, pulling me in for a one-armed hug as he led me forward to join the girls. 'And maybe soon it won't even matter,' he added teasingly while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, but luckily, for him, he refrained from actually laughing at the state I was in when he saw my dark glower, simply giving me a sympathetic smile instead.

There was no way I was pushing Krista into a sexual situation just to make things easier for myself. I also didn't want things going too far before she knew everything about me in case she decided it was too much and she wanted nothing more to do with me. I wasn't sure my sanity could handle getting a taste of bliss of that nature then never experiencing it again.

~x~*~x~

15 December 2041

I sent Freddie a text first thing after Krista woke up asking to switch shifts and take the next two night patrols. Having that responsibility was about the only thing that could get me to refuse the enticement of having Krista stay the night with me again and that was something I couldn't do.

Giving in had been entirely too much for me the night before, foolish. I'd been too weak to resist taking the chance, but my resolve was strengthened, completely fortified by the time morning arrived after I'd spent hours on end lying awake painfully hard, tormented by her alluring scent and tempting body draped across my chest. Even now I couldn't stop thinking about the feel of her breasts against me, pressing harder each time she inhaled. My eyes spent endless minutes staring fixedly at how the thin shirt she'd borrowed from me clung to its curve, outlining the peak of her dusky pink nipple, which was just barely visible through the light fabric.

The only reason I'd been able to stand it was because she'd been so tired we didn't share more than a chaste kiss before she'd fallen asleep and I did have enough self-control not to force myself on an unsuspecting sleeping girl, Taylor's words still bouncing around in my head. That and the knowledge that my parents were home and would smell and probably hear anything that went on in my room was enough to make me risk having her stay, but I knew I couldn't again. The draw to possess her completely was just too much for me.

I'd jerked off twice in the shower before going to make breakfast and that had been enough to earn me a questioning look from my dad when I'd entered the kitchen a little bit ago, talk about mortifying. Right now, seeing her in my rumpled clothes, her hair tousled like we'd just spent the last few hours doing exactly what I'd imagined us doing while I showered was enough to have me wishing I'd gone ahead and done it a third time like I'd been tempted to do.

At least Krista wasn't aware of the state she'd unconsciously worked me into. She had such an innocent sex appeal, completely unaware of how she had so thoroughly enchanted me and how every move she made was utterly seductive. The sway of her hips, mesmerizing, and her skin, well it practically sang to me in a voice only I could hear, begging me to taste it.

I was so distracted in my musings that mom barely intercepted me when I reached into the oven to pull out the pan of muffins without an oven mitt while Krista was watching. The burn wouldn't have hurt very much, but it would have completely healed in a matter of minutes. That would have been a tough one to explain and I wasn't ready to confess everything yet, not while I couldn't get past the animal instincts.

I couldn't lie to her, not really so I knew it'd be impossible to downplay things. There was no way I could convince her it was an insignificant part of me and that she should still give me a chance. If I tried right now, I'd fail in making her believe that I'm not a beast, not while the wolf was struggling for dominance and I was fighting the supernatural driving need to rut for the sole purpose of producing more mutant wolf cubs… I could practically envision just how well that explanation would go over.

Instead, I avoided situations where I could get carried away like I had in her bedroom the day before and other than that one kitchen blunder, I tried to behave normally the rest of the day and I think I succeeded. Now I just had to get through another day, two at the most, then I'd have a whole month before I needed to worry about it again.

~x~*~x~

16 December 2041

I was talking to Freddie when Mel's distinctly exasperated voice popped loudly and unfortunately, clearly, into our heads as she phased and joined the collective pack mind.

_**Levi, I love you, but I swear you are such an idiot sometimes!**_ She immediately began berating me. She was sitting in her backyard, evident by the familiar view I could remember seeing during any number of the countless times I had spent relaxing on the patio with her and Taylor.

_**What? What did I do?**_ I asked her truly confused. Nothing new or unusual had happened today. _**Wait, is Krista okay? Did something happen to her?**_ I asked frantically, already racing away from Freddie where we'd been running through the forest along the outskirts of La Push, heading towards Krista's at a breakneck pace. If something happened to her and I wasn't there—

_**She's fine, Levi. Nothing's happened to her.**_ I knew she wouldn't lie about that, but terror still clutched at my heart and I couldn't stop till I knew for certain, desperate to see her for myself. I skidded to a halt a fraction of a second later at the edge of her yard, just barely hidden in the dense, shadowy coverage provided by the trees.

_**Mel…**_ I sighed in relief. She was there, inside her room, calming chatting with Sabrina, the two of them reclining on her bed while Baz relaxed in her desk, silently watching them with a lazy smile. I could barely see in, but I could see her and that was enough, though I had to lay down, belated tremors of the agonizing fear that had seized me were racking my body so greatly that my legs weren't able to support it.

_**I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that. You know I wouldn't—if something ever did that I—she won't get… **_After several failed attempts to say whatever she was trying to she trailed off with a weary sigh. Through her eyes I saw Taylor, in human form, sit down beside her before she spoke again. _**I love you, Levi. Nothing is going to happen to Krista, not with all of us, particularly you, looking out for her. You have to stop worrying so much.**_

_**Is that it—the reason you called me an idiot? I haven't done something else wrong, have I?**_ I asked hesitantly, not sure if I really wanted to know.

_**I think I'm going to leave that for your more than capable sister to answer—this is obviously a family matter. Call me if necessary, though I doubt it will be.**_ Freddie remarked before phasing back a second later, not waiting for us to respond. I had kind of forgotten he was still there.

_**You're an idiot for being so closed off all the time and not talking to the people that matter when something is bothering you. Did you really think Krista wouldn't notice something was up with you?**_ The censure in her voice was easy to detect, though muted from what I'm sure it would have been without the previous scare, and it indicated with unmistakable clarity that even only a couple days in, I'd already messed up with Krista.

_**Umm, yeah?**_ I answered tentatively, but my unsure reply ended up coming out more as a question and I started second guessing how good I'd actually been at hiding my internal struggle from her. Quickly reviewing the last couple days produced a wealth of signs that she'd noticed and if I'd been able to think at all rationally while in her presence, I'd have picked up on it right away.

_**Well obviously it didn't work. Stop shutting her out!**_ She commanded dryly. Her mind control was almost as good as mine, but a couple imagines slipped past, perhaps on purpose, of her and Krista talking. The shy uncertainty apparent on Krista's beautiful face was painful to see knowing I was what troubled her.

_**I'm not.**_ I insisted trying unsuccessfully to defend myself because I could only managed to think of a few feeble arguments to support my claim and I knew those would only weakly hold up, if they did at all, against whatever Melody came up with.

_**Oh Levi, you are and you don't even realize it. You've kept everyone at a distance for so long, but you can't do that with her. It won't work and you shouldn't want it to. I know it's hard for you, but— **_

_**I really am trying to let her in, Melody.**_ I cut her off to admit. Truthfully, I was rather astonished how little effort it did take to let her in, but of course that didn't include any of the tough stuff yet.

_**I know you are, but to do that you have to tell her everything. She already gets you more than I do. I never would have noticed something was up unless you'd come to me yourself, but she noticed. You tell her half as much and she gets you twice as well. Just think how great it'll be once you share all of yourself.**_ She was right. I knew she was and I wanted what she was suggesting. I wanted it desperately, but I was afraid to risk loosing her if the truth was too much for her to handle.

_**She hasn't said anything though.**_ I pointed out; wondering why she hadn't confronted me directly and if that meant she didn't feel comfortable enough around me yet, though subconsciously I knew that wasn't the case. It was just hard to remember that right now._** Don't you think it's a little too soon? Wouldn't it go over better if I waited a bit?**_ Maybe if I waited, I'd have enough time to make her fall so completely in love with me that she wouldn't care about anything else.

_**Maybe she's waiting on you to make the first move. She already has once—it's your turn now. It'll go a long way in building some trust and a solid relationship if you volunteer what's going on with you instead of making her guess. You'll probably feel better too.**_ Once again I knew she was right. However, it didn't escape me that she avoided answering me about if it was too soon to tell Krista about the pack.

_**I still think it's a little soon to drop such a huge bomb on her.**_

_**About that… you're kind of on-a-time-limit.**_ She began hesitantly then finished in a rush, the words running together, but I still understood their meaning loud and clear. If I was looking at her right then I could imagine her cowering sheepishly or at least avoiding eye contact.

_**Melody?**_ I said her name like a question as well as a warning; though logically I knew threatening would make little difference now because Melody had already done whatever it was she'd needed to in order to initiate a time limit on this subject.

_**Don't get mad, but I kind of promised on her birthday that I'd explain everything in a week if you didn't before then, so umm… you have four more days.**_ I guess I didn't need to worry about when to tell her anymore, Melody had taken that decision out of my hands, now I just needed to worry about how.

_**Mel! Wha—why would you do that?**_ I asked in exasperation, not so much mad as annoyed that she didn't tell me about this sooner and maybe a little excited or hopeful because it made me realize that if she promised to explain, it was because Krista was asking questions, which meant she already suspected something wasn't normal yet she'd still been willing to give us a try.

_**Oh come on, Levi. She'll be my sister someday. I couldn't help it, she deserves to know.**_ Melody pleaded for my understanding about her motives.

_**Don't. You don't know that for sure.**_ I wasn't really superstitious so much as I was a bit more than partially convinced that I had perpetual bad luck, minus imprinting on Krista of course. I did not want to jinx this and saying something like that felt like it surely must be a jinx.

_**Yes I do. How could she possible resist you and why on earth would she ever want to?**_ She attempted to sweet talk me and I mentally rolled my eyes for her making her giggle.

_**Maybe because I turn into a hairy sobering wolf the size of a horse.**_ I reminded her seriously, but the echoes of her giggles continued to ring through my mind.

_**You don't drool all that much!**_ She teased before sobering up. _**And have a little faith. I have a feeling things will go a lot better than you seem to think they will. Oh, and another piece of advice from a female perspective… don't stop in the middle of… stuff. Girls take that as rejection and it hurts, so don't do it again cuz I know you don't wanna hurt her.**_ I didn't think of that before and knowing I had only briefly kissed her since the episode in her room probably made her think I didn't want to. I cursed myself for not realizing sooner that I was hurting her feelings. I had to make it up to her as soon as possible.

_**She didn't want to stop?**_ I question, needing to hear for certain.

_**Not at all. Disappointed it didn't go further in fact. **_Her thoughts were accompanied by Taylor's advice to Krista from earlier this evening and I was more than a little surprised to find out she did want to explore our physical relationship. I hadn't wanted to risk losing the precarious hold I had on my self-control while she was in heat, but as soon as she wasn't anymore… _**Another reason you're an idiot… stopping when you both wanted more. **_

_**Easy for you to say, you don't have to deal with someone in heat!**_ I complained trying to justify myself and not to dwell on the negative of that new revelation.

_**Levi, it always seems like Taylor is in heat to me—I just never bothered to resist, perhaps you shouldn't either…**_

_**Thanks for sharing that, really.**_ I muttered sarcastically, filing that away with all the other information I'd rather not be privy to regarding her and Taylor's relationship, but couldn't really be helped between our mind share and the natural closeness we'd developed from our sibling bond.

_**Anytime, big brother!**_ She sang cheerily before phasing back, leaving me alone to my thoughts as I planned out how to tell Krista… _everything_.


	23. Show and Tell

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! Updates are probably going to slow down a little bit more than they already have, I'm really sorry, but real life is getting extremely hectic for me. I really hope you keep reading though and I'll try to get things out as soon as possible. Thanks for understanding!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**My beta, yay4shanghai, completely rocks! Thanks so much for everything, you truly are incredible and I appreciate your help so much!**

* * *

**Show and Tell**

* * *

17 December 2041

My mind had been in overdrive since my conversation with Melody and I was anxious to be near Krista. I wanted to tell her immediately, before I lost my nerve, but I still couldn't come up with a good way to do it. She wasn't in heat anymore, I could tell when I sat under her window and I was infinitely grateful. I paced around her backyard while I brainstormed ideas.

It already felt like too much time had passed since I was last close enough to touch her when the large orange sun began its ascent and I ended up climbing through her window shortly after her father left for work, unable to wait another minute to get near her again. I sat on the dilapidated green, jungle-print chair in the corner by her window watching her sleep for another two hours, simply enjoying how peaceful she appeared before moving to gently kiss her delicate cheek.

She stirred when I did, reaching up to touch the spot, but her hand came in contact with my face first, the tips of her fingers rested against my chin. Rolling onto her back, she gazed sleepily up at me. Her eyelids slowly closing and opening a few times, her golden lashes fluttering over her cheekbones before a magnificent smile spread across her face and I couldn't help returning it.

'Morning,' I signed hoping she wouldn't mind the impromptu wake up call.

'How did you get in here?' She asked and giggled when I pointed towards the window. I could tell she didn't believe me since there weren't any trees or some kind of a trellis outside the window, but she found the idea funny anyways.

That would have been a good opening to tell her, start by explaining how I'd climbed through her window then go on from there, but she didn't believe me. I spent about two seconds stumbling over the few ideas I had rolling through my mind on the best way to convince her, but another, much more pressing thought occurred to me. Her mother and sister were both still here and either could walk in if they heard us and I doubted it'd go over well if I was found in her bedroom.

I held a finger to my lips and signed, 'mom,' to explain the need for quiet. She glanced at her alarm clock and saw the glowing digital numbers declaring that it was almost eight.

'She won't hear us… heavy sleeper,' she signed. Well that took care of one issue. I almost still used my entrance as an introduction to the looming explanation, but before I could, she added, 'I like waking up to you, much better than a alarm.'

I couldn't resist kissing her then. Every thought except the one insisting I claim her fled from my head and like a recovering addict being handed their drug of choice, I caved, swooping in to capture her sweet lips. I'd missed their touch and taste so much. She responded eagerly, towing me towards her and I went willingly, settling in beside her on the bed and huddling her close against my chest. When we broke apart some time later, I propped my head up on my elbow to gaze down at her flushed and beautiful face.

'I like that even more,' she signed staring up at me breathlessly, her chest moving rapidly against mine and I nodded in agreement. 'Is that why you came?' Another opening, I debated my response for a split second.

'No, I came to ask if you want to take Eli and Hazel to the zoo with me today. I take Eli every year,' I ended up signing, chickening out at the last instant. I was a coward. I told myself weakly that it was because I really had already promised Eli and I couldn't break my word to him, I'd already let him down way too many times lately.

If I confessed everything to Krista now and she freaked, there was no way I'd be able to handle spending the day in Seattle so far away from her. Even if she didn't freak, I owed her more than a rushed explanation and that was all I had time for this morning. It would be better to wait. Maybe tonight once we got back would be better. Yeah, that way I'd also have more time to figure out what I planned to say when I told her because so far I was still drawing a blank.

The argument was feeble and flimsy at best, but I'd jump on any excuse to put this conversation off for even a little bit longer if I could. I knew it was pointless to wait for the right time because really, when would there ever be an ideal time to tell the love of your life that you were a werewolf?

'Love to,' she replied, cutting into my morose musings and I smiled, happy with that particular outcome then went back to berating myself while I waited in her room while she got ready.

~x~*~x~

'Can Ava still come?' Eli asked running off to grab his Pa's cell phone off the coffee table and send a text message as soon as we arrived. Krista and I shared an amused grin because he didn't wait for me to agree, just assumed I would. 'Phil's bringing her here,' he signed a minute later when the phone vibrated again.

While waiting for Ava to get there, we tried to convince Hazel to come with us. I was a little disappointed when she refused and not even Eli could coax her into spending the day with us. I felt extremely guilty for not making more of an effort to get to know her in the five or so months since she became my cousin. My uncles deserved more from me and what's more, I wanted to know her. Family was important to me and it only took a few seconds of being around Hazel to recognize how special and amazing she was. I'd have to double my efforts to get to know her after this.

I also felt guilty because I'd wanted to use this as a way to give my uncles a day to themselves, I knew they needed one and I still owed Mark for giving us that notebook the other day. It had really come in handy when we were first getting started and somewhat managed to prevent us from floundering and possibly from eventually giving up altogether.

'I tried,' I signed to Mark when we were leaving, giving him a helpless shrug and glancing over at Hazel where she was cuddled up in Jordan's arms, the pair looked completely content and happy to stay as they were.

'Not hard enough,' he responded with a sigh and I saw Krista try to stifle a giggle from the corner of my eye.

The drive was relaxing. I held Krista's hand the entire way, absently stroking my thumb over the back of her small hand and could tell she sensed a welcome change in my mood. Not wanting to ruin that, I cast the subject of being a wolf from my mind and focused on making sure she had a good time instead. Her happiness was more important.

We got to Seattle a little after noon and found a hole-in-the-wall Thai place for lunch because it was cheaper than eating at the zoo, food was better too. We also stopped by the mall so Ava could pick up a Christmas gift for her sister. She ended up deciding on a gift certificate to a popular clothing store Chloe liked, but only rarely was able to shop at because it didn't have any closer locations.

We headed to the zoo afterwards for a very enjoyable afternoon. I kept an arm wrapped around Krista's shoulders, holding her close to keep her warm while we idly strolled down the worn paths watching Eli and Ava running around ahead of us. The coldest winter weather wouldn't set in for another couple weeks so many of the attractions were still out for viewing.

We spent extra time in the reptile house when the kids needed a break from the cold since that building was heated and because Eli had a fondness for the exotic snakes from Central and South America, particularly boa constrictors. There were also a number of indoor exhibits to see this time of year as well and we killed time viewing those while we waited for it to get dark outside.

Sunset was a little after four and most of the Christmas lights came on about that time so we walked back through the park to see the lights all lit up, including an elaborate Santa's Village that was still exciting to see despite us all being too old to truly enjoy. The main attraction was a dolphin, penguin and seal show that ended with an elaborate display of fireworks. We attended the early show, which started at six and by the end Ava was in raptures, wishing she had one of the little yellow-eyed penguins for herself, just as she had the year before, and each of the three years before that.

It was pretty late when we got back to La Push. We dropped Ava off first and I hesitated in my uncles' driveway after saying goodbye to Eli, unsure about asking her to stay with me again tonight. I wanted her to, but she hadn't the last two nights, so it was harder to suck it up and ask her. She nodded before I even asked, however, no invitation required. I had glanced at her and she'd already known I wanted her to stay over again. That knowledge made me grin and sigh in relief.

We were both exhausted when we arrived at my house after our day at the zoo and I had it worse because that was on top of several days with next to no sleep. That made it easy to put off telling her till morning, I wanted both of us to be coherent for the intended conversation and right now we weren't. I'd tell her in the morning though, no matter what. Yeah, tomorrow would be better.

~x~*~x~

18 December 2041

'I have been watching you,' I signed the second her eyes focused on me. Shit. The idea had been to dive right in, not give myself a change to back out, but admitting that I stalked her wasn't what I aimed to start with.

It was early, but not too early. She'd slept later than usual and I let her. I had only slept a couple hours myself before waking from a nightmare. It was the first I'd had since I imprinted and the content, which involved Krista though I couldn't remember the exact details, had been scary enough to make the thought of getting back to sleep again very unappealing.

Instead, I stayed up doing some much needed planning while I waited for her to wake up. I was sick with dread and every passing minute made it worse. That's why I slipped up. It was too late to take it back; I was stuck now, waiting in a feverish haze of hellish suspense to see how she'd respond.

'Have you been up long then?' She signed sweetly, misunderstanding my vague statement.

'No. Well yes, but I meant since this summer when I first saw you,' I signed like an idiot, clarifying what I'd intended by "watching her" instead of starting over completely. She looked surprised, but unafraid and I took it as a good and encouraging sign that she didn't run screaming from the room or back away in fearful distrust.

'Why—I mean, I'm not very interesting,' she signed carefully, seeming genuinely more curious to learn my motives than she was disturbed by the fact I had spent months following her around like some sort of creepy psychopath. Her words slammed into me, scattering my thoughts like getting reamed with a two by four leaving me with only the pressing need to convince her how wrong she was about herself.

'You are fascinating!' I replied animatedly, still truly astonished that she could ever fail to see what I did when I looked at her. She blushed immediately, smiling shyly, but a degree of uncertainty or perhaps disbelief lingered in her woodsy green orbs so I added, 'I can't get enough of you or stay away—not that I want to. I have to protect you, not just that, I want more of you, all of you—I mean I want to be near you always—'

Fuck! I screamed in my head, rolling onto my back and rubbing my face in total frustration. It would not be possible to screw this up anymore if I were actively trying to because my nonsensical ramblings were doing a swell job all on their own. Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this. I had never shared so much of myself with another person and I didn't really know how to. If I kept up like this, pretty soon she was going to get fed up and bow out realizing I wasn't worth the effort.

I felt her small cool hands urging mine away from my face and I let her. Of course I did, I'd do anything she wanted me to, anything to make her happy. Before I opened my eyes to look up at her, she kissed me. I was taken aback by the unexpected suddenness of it, but quickly became lost, absorbed in her touch. My hands wandered over her body, intimately caressing her and she did the same. We communicated better without words and right now we were conveying our mutual desire for the other, each of us understanding that our feelings were reciprocated, that everything was alright with us, and that there was nothing to worry about—yet.

Things were simpler, clearer, when we broke apart. She was flushed, her eyes were heavy with desire that I attempted to ignore and she was wearing a small happy smile. I concentrated on seeing her and forgetting the mess I had previously endeavored to create, as a sense of clam washed gently over me; thanks entirely to her knowing exactly what I'd needed to relax and get me through this conversation.

'Is this related to what Mel hinted at with us as… well us,' she asked and I nodded in relief, sitting up to face her, grateful she was able to interpret the direction my illogical admissions were headed.

'I belong to you,' I signed without thinking, it was just the first thing I thought of then I had already signed it before stopping to consider the wisdom of doing so and now it was too late to start somewhere else.

'I don't understand,' she signed with a slight apologetic shake of her head and I marveled that she was even still willing to hear me out, let alone feel bad for not being able to piece together my fragmented confession, so taking a chance, I went for it.

'From the moment I saw you, I became yours and I'll always love you as much as I do right now—'

'You love me?' She interrupted, her astonished eyes wide and unblinking as she stared at me anxiously, holding her breath while she waited for my answer.

'More than anything,' I signed and when the only perceptible movement she made was the further rounding of her eyes, I added, 'always.'

'So this,' she paused to wave her hand back and forth between us before finishing, 'is forever, you're sure? No matter what?'

'Nothing could make me stop loving you,' I promised her then hesitantly traced a finger down the profile of her cheek, fearing she'd pull away. Instead, she smiled, her entire face lighting up with such radiant happiness I could barely remember to breathe, only the stinging burn and dizziness from oxygen deprivation prompting me to inhale again.

'Why? How do you know?' I tensed at the question, closing my eyes and taking several deep breaths to prepare myself and collect my thoughts before opening them ready to tell her, trying not to delay or keep her in suspense any longer than strictly necessary.

My hands felt stiff like my body was fighting me, urging me not to form those words, but I did anyways. 'Its part of what I am, getting to know when I first see my soul mate…' I trailed off, scared to continue. I was terrified I'd never see her smile at me the way she just had again once she knew everything though I knew I didn't have a choice, she had to be told the secret of our tribe, though only the pack was aware of its truth.

'What you are?' She signed the question slowly, not like she was scared, more like she thought she'd misunderstood and wanted confirmation of what I'd signed.

'I turn into a wolf,' I revealed then waited to see how she'd take it. My stomach twisted in painful knots, leaving me queasy while my forehead became instantly clammy. Icy bands of steel crept around my chest, gradually tightening as they cut off the air supply to my lungs and the flow of blood to my heart, waiting to see her reaction to know if it they would be required to crush the unnecessary organs should she react negatively.

'Okay,' she signed hesitantly, glancing around like she expected someone to pop out of hiding and scream "gottcha" because this was actually only a joke.

'Really,' I insisted, staring at her intently until she slowly nodded, understanding that I was serious. 'It's because I'm Quileute. Some of us do. We're strong, fast, hot—enhanced,' I explained deciding that keeping it simple would be best for now, no reason to overwhelm her or alarm her by over sharing just yet. She looked at me with a thoughtful expression, her eyes running over my face assessing me carefully.

'It doesn't hurt you does it?' She eventually asked and her concern made my heart swell till it completely filled my chest and warm tingles danced through me like static electricity. The constrictive pressure around my chest eased considerably and my shoulders sighed in relief as their heavy burden was lifted.

'No,' I assured her immediately, smiling easily. I had never felt such a liberating sense of freedom like this before.

'Can I see?'

'No,' I signed with a sharp snap of my fingers, feeling frantic over merely the idea of doing something so absurd.

My body tensed up again, every muscle pulled taunt. I wanted to kick myself for foolishly letting my guard down and relaxing like I was in the clear. I was stupid to think that the hard part was over with all this when obviously that wasn't the case because I had forgotten about so many little things just like this one.

I never expected her to want to see. I figured she'd want as little to do with that side of me as possible. She didn't grow up knowing about it so she must find it weird and people generally didn't do well with things that were considered abnormal, but then I should know better by now than to lump Krista in with the norm. There was nothing standard about her, she was completely extraordinary.

I quickly amended my refusal when I caught sight of her wounded expression, 'not till either Melody and Taylor or my mom and dad are here.'

'Your parents aren't here? How can you tell?' I touched my nose in answer figuring she could handle one more of my little quirks right now. She looked confused by my gesture at first, but then her face lit up in understanding and she started giggling madly.

'What?'

'I bet gym class sucks!' I could hardly believe how well she was taking this, to the point she felt comfortable making jokes about it. The realization brought a real smile to my face as I nodded in agreement. 'Why do the others have to be here? Can they turn into wolves too?' Again I nodded.

I wasn't sure how to explain the danger of me phasing and of me being a wolf to her, to make her understand how serious and real it was. I wanted to make that point clear from the start, but I was also still worried about not wanting to overload her with information and I had to be approaching that point about now. Too much and she'd be overwhelmed or the significance of certain things would get lost.

'You're afraid, why?' She asked, interrupting my internal debate by addressing the very subject in question. I wasn't even tripped up this time by her already knowing I was afraid, because she did know, she was simply struggling to understand the underlying cause motivating my fear.

'I don't want to hurt you and I could, so easily,' I admitted staring into her beautiful eyes so she could see my sincerity.

'Levi, you would never hurt me, it's just not possible,' she signed so confidently that a huge portion of the fear I constantly fought to stay in control of disappeared altogether, though I still felt it necessary to encourage her to be cautious and justify my reasoning.

'It's happened before.'

'But it wasn't you that hurt someone?' She signed making it a question though I could tell she already knew the answer.

'No, different wolf—an accident, but he hurt her,' I signed then remembering that she'd met them, I added, 'Emily, her face.' She was careful to keep whatever she was thinking and any surprise or fear from showing on her face, making it appear that she had no reaction whatsoever to the news, but I saw the pulse in her neck throb faster and a corresponding increase in color across her cheeks, something she wasn't adept at masking from me or anyone.

'You aren't him and I wouldn't care if you did that to me, not as long as you still loved me,' she declared fervently. Nothing had prepared me for such a statement. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined receiving such unquestionable and undeniable proof of her acceptance for what I am or of knowing she cared more about my feelings for her than anything else.

It took me several minutes to recover from the shock she'd dealt me and when I did, I saw that her face was set with determination and I could tell she was bracing herself for my response so I kept it simple and heartfelt.

'Always.' She released a relieved sigh and her eyes drifted closed as she smiled happily.

'Then will you show me,' she requested hesitantly, making it clear that the choice was mine, but that I needn't be afraid because she trusted me implicitly and nothing would happen.

I didn't want to risk it, not really, but I needed to. This was important to her, that she be able to show me I wouldn't hurt her. She had been so understanding and accepting of me that I needed to make this gesture to show that her trust in me was well founded.

I led her outside, stopping only to help her into her winter coat and to wait while she slipped on the knee-high black, heeled boots she'd worn yesterday, which were tight and had buckles wrapping around the ankle. The combination of coat and boots made her look adorable, especially when paired with my boxers.

'Stay here,' I asked pausing on the patio and she nodded, sitting down in one of the chairs. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them to show she had no intention of moving. I walked to the center of the yard and hesitated, unsure how to proceed. She was watching me intently, so I awkwardly signed, 'I grow,' then indicated the shorts I was wearing, shifting uncomfortably.

It was harder outside in the chill morning air, but I still managed to detect her blush a full three seconds before she nodded to let me know she understood what I was trying to say. She didn't look away. Instead, her eyes stared, unblinking, at me, her gaze rioted. With a nervous swallow, which became painfully lodged in my throat, I pulled off my navy, cut-off sweats.

Standing straight, I felt the familiar warm tingle race down my spine, my body vibrating for a moment before I exploded, sandy fur sprouting across my skin as my body stretched and my insides shifted. One second I was me then the next I was landing on all fours, looking up at the most exquisite woman that ever existed, who was grinning, completely unafraid.

I watched her lips form my name and I shook my massive furry head, letting her know I still couldn't hear. My heart broke when her face fell and she nodded in understanding. It had been difficult to see my mom beat herself up and be upset that I couldn't hear as a wolf, but seeing Krista affected by it too was almost unbearable. I hated disappointing her. I lay down, resting my head on the ground between my paws, trying rather pointlessly to make myself appear smaller and less intimidating while I watched her look me over.

'Can you still understand me at all,' she signed while biting her lip and I lifted my head to nod. She released a great sigh and slumped forward a bit, relaxing her shoulders, 'oh good. I meant to ask before… forgot,' she signed as red bloomed across her cheeks and I realized I had made her forget, or my stripping for her had. 'Can I touch you?'

When I nodded again, she ran down to me, dropping by my side to sit on the cold ground and stroke my fur. It was soothing, like getting a massage. 'You're so soft and beautiful,' she signed and I nuzzled into her hand before resting my muzzle on her lap looking up at her. 'I love you,' she signed unexpectedly.

I hopped up and she stood as well looking confused, so I nudged her towards the porch and when she got there I phased back desperate for her in a way I needed to be human to experience.

'I love you too,' I signed before rushing to her, not bothering to grab my shorts in my rush to hold her again. She stared in shock, amazed by the speed and I flashed her a grin before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.


	24. Amazed

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! **

**This and the next couple chapters are going to be a little shorter so that I can get them out to you guys sooner.**

**As always I recommend you read the other spin-offs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, twihardcaligurl, intiMACYx33, and TwilightHeart21. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thanks to my fabulous beta, yay4shanghai. You're the best and I really appreciate all your help and guidance in the world of writing, you've helped more and been more encouraging than I could have ever imagined!**

* * *

**Amazed**

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18 December 2041

He was serious. Levi really just… exploded or morphed or whatever into a—a wolf! And a huge one at that!

It was completely unreal, yet totally incredible and amazing—_he_ was extraordinary. I couldn't take my eyes off him, so absolute was my awe for Levi. There was still so much of him in the wolf before me and I found those traits and features so easily recognizable that not a molecule of my being was afraid of him. That would have been impossible, it simply would never happen because I literally could never fear him.

His head was resting in my lap and I wanted to laugh at the sheer size of it as I combed my fingers through the downy soft russet fur, pausing to scratch behind his ear causing him to nuzzle into the palm of my hand. Instead of laughing, I signed what I should have signed earlier when he did, except I'd been too overwhelmed to manage it, while now I couldn't hold them back another second. They were bursting to escape me like the first golden ray of sunlight peaking over the horizon that brilliantly lights the sky, refusing to be blocked or hidden.

'I love you.' I was so relieved that he could understand me because that had been my only concern when he changed and I wanted him to know right away that I did.

I'm not sure what kind of a reaction I was expecting from him following my declaration, but I was a little lost when he bound immediately to his feet and urgently directed me back to the porch. The reason quickly became clear when he was suddenly him again, the change occurring so rapidly that my eyes were unable focus on him before it was over and he was standing upright, boldly baring himself to me.

'I love you too,' he signed, my gaze zeroing in on the movements his hands made to form those words, the radiant happiness they brought me and their all consuming significance somehow managing to do the impossible and surpass the emotional response they invoked on me the first he told me.

I didn't have a chance to appreciate him or the words before he was directly in front of me, having crossed the distance separating us in only a fraction of a second, my wide-eyed stare registering nothing except a brownish blur when he moved. He'd said being a wolf made him fast, but that was unbelievable!

His grinning face hovered before me for an instant then the next thing I knew, I was caught up in a frenzied kiss as he held me in his heated embrace locked seamlessly against his perfect streamline body. It was like taking a bite of an orange wedge, a citrusy sweet burst of juicy flavor filling my mouth when his tongue dipped between my parted lips. His warmth seeped through my coat, drenching my skin and his heady pine scent, stronger now than I could ever recall it previously, filled my nose pleasantly. My hands traveled over the soft skin of his muscular back, but I pulled away before I could get lost in the dense fog of sensations he stirred to life inside me. It was not soon enough, because we were already in the middle of something and the fog bank was no longer confined within me, it had spilled over to surround us and it took a few precious seconds to sufficiently clear allowing me to see where we were, reminding me why I'd pulled back in the first place.

I met his confused eyes briefly before signing, 'inside,' and urging him towards the door. He caught my meaning at once, following me in and the second the door closed behind him, he had my coat off and was helping me unzip and remove my knee-high boots. A rush of giggles erupted from my throat at his impatience, something I found completely endearing. I never wanted these needy feelings to disappear between us.

It registered briefly once he had hastily discarded my second boot and swept me back into his arms that we were steadily approaching his room and that he'd dropped my coat and shoes haphazardly on the floor along the way, leaving a trail reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. The thought was fleeting, however, because the whole thing happened in a matter of seconds with a lag time between reality and when my brain finished processing everything to get caught up. And the image of the candy gingerbread house he was leading me to, was swiftly forgotten, replaced with the much more enthralling sight of Levi when he set me on my feet beside his bed, both of which were enough to jar me back to the present.

I felt the heat of his palms on my skin at the base of my ribcage, beneath the edge of my shirt. He watched me intently as they inched upward, leaving my skin humming everywhere he touched and my breathing becoming increasingly shallow with each rib that he passed. The pressure of his touch only substantial enough to keep from being ticklish, making it clear I was free to stop him should I want to, but as the pad of his thumb lightly grazed the sensitive underside of my breast, I knew with 100% certainty that I had no intention of doing any such thing.

Taking Taylor's recent advice and making it abundantly clear that I was alright with this, I tugged the shirt off and let my arms fall back to my sides, thankful that I had removed my bra last night before going to sleep because that was one less barrier separating us right now waiting to be eliminated. I was amazed that I felt no pressing urge to shield myself from view and a remarkable lack of embarrassment, both of which I always expected to feel when intimately exposing myself for the first time.

His heavy onyx eyes held mine as if seeking permission before dropping to see my naked breast. My skin heated under the directness of his gaze like I was sitting next to a roaring fire, almost too close because when his hands moved to cup the tender orbs, his thumbs gently passing over the pointed peaks of my nipples, it felt as if flames were licking me. I had thought he was unusually hot, but his body temperature had nothing on the heat pouring from his stare as he took in the sight of me before him.

His touch was shy and hesitant, timidly exploring as he reverently caressed me, his expression a mask of intense concentration. I stood frozen, torn between the new feelings he was invoking and watching his face, seeing the array of emotions, all with the underlying and undeniable current of love.

His fingertips slowly traced concentric circles over the sloping swell of each globe, getting smaller as they migrated towards the center where he tweaked the hardened nubs of my dusky nipples. Chill like tingles erupted across my body, flowing through me and pooling in my core, generated by his touch. The heat of his hand served to heighten the arousal I felt for him, tearing a breathy moan from deep in my chest. No one had ever touched me so intimately, seen me so exposed and I couldn't imagine this happening with anyone other than Levi.

Unable to take the mounting tension any longer, I covered his hands with mine, stilling them. He looked back up at me with a sheepish grin and I smiled reassuringly, lovingly, to let him know I didn't mind, but I selfishly needed more. Stepping forward to close the gap between us, he crossed the remaining distance, dipping down to seal our lips in a tender kiss, his hands falling to the indent of my waist, squeezing gently.

I reached down to interlock our fingers and guide our joined hands down to the rolled elastic waistband of my borrowed shorts, urging them over my hips and off. He didn't attempt to take off my lacey black panties, the last piece of clothing covering me and separating us. Instead, he eased me closer, not breaking our kiss as he stepped back to sit on his bed and pull me onto his lap where I deftly straddled him.

I promptly slid closer, pressing my core against his hard shaft and smashing my breasts to his chest. His entire body shuttered when I undulated my hips, rubbing myself along his hardened length and his hands came to rest on my upper thighs, gripping my flesh tightly. I felt desire gathering at my entrance when he bucked up, pressing harder against me and I gasped, the sound being swallowed by Levi a moment before he leaned back to look at me seriously. We stared at each other, taking a few deep, though somewhat irregular breathes to compose ourselves.

'We don't have to do anything you don't want to or that you're not ready for,' he signed carefully before brushing his thumb lightly over my cheekbone and smiling sweetly. I shivered, touched by his thoughtfulness, but knowing what I wanted and stopping wasn't it.

'I want you. I want to touch you,' I signed swallowing thickly and resting the tips of my nervous, shaking fingers against his stomach, waiting for his consent before I actually did anything.

'Whatever you want is fine,' he promised with wide eyes and that was all the invitation I needed.

Trailing my right hand down his chiseled abs, I wrapped it around his thick throbbing shaft while my left hand wandered over his chest, shoulders and back, drifting across every surface of his body as if my hand was attempting to memorize his form. I wanted to take in every detail, but their numbers were infinite and there was a more pressing task, currently straining against my right palm that required my immediate attention, which I very willingly devoted.

Glancing briefly up at him, my eyes darted to his then back to where my hand was securely holding his member. It was burning hot and it twitched beneath my fingers when my hand migrated from the base to his tip, almost causing me to release him, but I didn't. Instead, I circled my finger over the top, spreading the clear fluid over the head making his hips strain up, pushing him further into my grip.

I had no idea what I was doing and more than anything, I wanted him to enjoy this, so I was exceedingly grateful when he wrapped his hand around mine to guide it, urging it to into a steady stroking rhythm. It was unreal how even before that he seemed to enjoy my untried touch and knowing that made me never want to stop, because seeing his pleasure was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

His body was perfect, like a carefully sculpted work of art. He was truly an Adonis, not a single flaw to be found anywhere on his body, at least none that I considered to mare rather than enhance his beauty like the three miniscule freckles on his upper chest near his left shoulder that I leaned in to kiss tenderly as I thought of them. It was still hard to believe that I was privileged enough to touch him, but I did so ardently, without hesitation as if he were a dream that could vanish at any moment and I needed to get my fill of him now, least I not have another chance to.

The part of him that currently held the majority of my attention and aroused my greatest interest, well, was larger than I ever imagined a guy was capable of being. I couldn't take my eyes off him or our joined hands, the alternating combination of warm beige and dark copper. I'd seen naked guys in pictures and movies, but never in real life. My absolute inexperience in all matters relating to males had never felt as vast or as intellectually crippling as it did today, because the ones I'd seen were nowhere near as big as Levi—maybe this was another one of the things he'd meant by enhanced as a side effect of being a wolf, though there was no way in hell I planned on asking. I'd rather remain eternally ignorant than make such an inquiry.

The speed of our tugging increased, his full pink lips parted to allow his rapid breathes that came in ragged pants and I knew that meant he was getting close. He attempted to pull my hand away, but I shook my head to let him know I didn't want to stop, but bring him to completion instead. A few jerks later, I was rewarded when he quite suddenly exploded, bucking wildly into my hand while projecting a stream of hot fluid onto our interwoven hands.

He stared at me intently and I felt the swell of emotions swirling around us, seeming strong enough to stop time and freeze this significant moment, preserving it forever. Every look and touch brought us closer in a way I'd never be able to express verbally and the fact seemed more apparent now than it ever had. When the moment passed, as each inevitably did, he reached for the discarded shirt I'd borrowed to sleep in, which he used to wipe up the evidence of his release before his focus returned to me.

'Can I—'

'Yes, please,' I signed in reply, cutting him off because I didn't need to know the question to know I'd agree to anything involving him without hesitation. He grinned excitedly, rolling me onto my back, his body settling comfortably between my parted legs with his elbows bracing him above me all in one fluid motion that felt astonishingly natural, despite the relative infancy of our physical relationship.

He kissed along the column of my neck, sucking lightly on my pulse till I moaned, his face nuzzling my throat where he could feel the vibrations producing the sound on his cheek when I did. My back bowed pushing my chest up harder against him as an unfamiliar, yet thrilling anticipation began mounting at an exponential rate when he continued his journey farther down my body. He made me feel so alive, made me want to feel this alive and to experience all these new sensations.

When his mouth captured the peak of my breast, sucking my nipple between his perfect pouty lips, I swear my heart shuttered to a screeching halt before kicking into overdrive beating double time or faster. My fists clenched, knotting in the sheets on his bed and my toes curling as his tongue swirled around the budded peak. After releasing the damp nub from the scorching cavern of his mouth to the room's cool, almost cold air where it hardened further, he proceeded to lavish the same exquisite torture on its mate making me impossibly more breathless.

His mouth continued blazing a path straight down my torso, starting in the valley between my breasts and working down to the scalloped lace edge of my panties. He sat up at that point, gazing directly into my eyes as he slipped a finger under the edge on each side by my hips, sweeping the digit lightly back and forth over my skin causing little shutters to resonate through me.

I was nearly mindless with an inexplicable longing. My body was crying out, demanding more. In my inexperience, I didn't really know what I was craving so desperately, I had no way to put it into words; I just knew that I needed Levi. I ached for him, an aching desire that only he could satisfy and the sooner the better.

I don't know what I did, or if I actually did anything at all, but he smiled briefly with a look I'd never seen from him before looking down to where he'd hooked his fingers to snag the thin material allowing him to ease it down and off my body as I struggled to control my breathing.

He bent to kiss the last place his lips had touched my body, starting where he'd left on while his hands roamed ceaselessly over my thighs and hips, never quite reaching the place I longed for them most.

His every caress was so careful, insuring that he always handled me like I was delicate, fragile, like a pristine flower petal that would bruise if touched directly. It was like he was scared to apply any substantial pressure or touch me with anything other than a light brush and I had a feeling I was right on with my suspicion, but I didn't want to mention it and ruin this.

Before it really registered what he intended to do, his mouth covered the swollen nub of my sex and I cried out at the intense pleasure that flooded my body, sending my whole system into overdrive as my senses were transported to new and unimaginable heights. I felt his tongue trace my wet slit, dancing between my folds, its pointed tip swirling around my entrance then dipping in slightly before he progressed back to stimulating my sensitive bundle of nerves once more when one of his hands finally joined his mouth at my center.

He gently eased one of his long, thick fingers inside me, pumping it in languid strokes while his tongue expertly licked my tender clit, the combination sending jolts of crackling energy radiating outward till the tips of my fingers and toes were tingling and my head was spinning so fast it was like I was floating. His other hand was busy maintaining a loose though immobilizing grip on my hips, to keep them from thrashing wildly under his intoxicating ministrations.

The pace of his actions was steadily increasing causing a corresponding tightening as my body attempted to pull my limbs in on itself like stretched rubber bands snapping back to their original length except dragging my extremities along with them. The tension built till it was practically humming at a different frequency then suddenly was released in this Krakatau-worthy eruption that while it might not be heard around the world, I swear its euphoric blast would definitely have been felt.

He crawled up my body again, kissing me chastely before moving to lie on his side and I rolled to face him, our heads resting close together, sharing a pillow while he draped a thin sheet over us. His heat flowed outward, filling the air surrounding us and warming the bed to create a perfectly toasty cocoon for me.

In that moment, staring into the deep inky pools of his expressive orbs, I saw my future and it promised a greater happiness than I ever would have dared dream for myself. His love went straight to my head in a dizzying rush that left me breathlessly giddy, just like the bubbles in a glass of champagne did. Every second I spent in his presence he managed to make me feel the depths of his love, when he looked at me I felt cherished and I had no doubt I was beautiful in his eyes.

We didn't discuss what just happened, there was no need, nor were there words to describe the significance this morning held for each of us. Never in my life had I felt as close or connected to another individual than I did to Levi right now and I basked in the certainty that our connection was not only unbreakable, but would actually continue growing stronger over time as I'd already felt it did just in the last few days since my birthday.

Eventually he laid back, pulling me close with one arm wrapped securely around me. The tender brush of his lips on my temple made me smile as I listened to his heartbeat, my eyes fluttering closed as the soothing lullaby lulled me to that peaceful existence between awake and asleep.


	25. Pillow Talk

**A/N: Any wolves you recognize from The Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

**Basically everything else, including past and present wolf pack members, imprints, wolf families, and additional characters in this story belong to the universe created by the amazing, brilliant, and wonderfully talented yay4shanghai!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed, I love getting feedback and hearing what people think, hope you enjoy this! This chapter isn't the greatest, sorry :( Next one should be better. **

**I added some new pictures, so look on my profile for the link to check those out.**

**Also, Happy Mother's Day! Thanks for, well, everything... I love you, Mom!**

**As always I recommend you read the other spinoffs by liljenrocks, ari11990, AsagariMelody, Guzhong, ****twihardcaligurl,**** intiMACYx33**** and ****TwilightHeart21****. They are fantastic and worth taking the time to read. **

**Thank you so much for being such a wonderful beta yay4shangai, you're the best! **

* * *

**Pillow Talk**

* * *

18 December 2041

I must have dosed off because I was slightly disoriented when I heard a startling rattling sound. I was still curled up against Levi's side, our bodies molding together like he was a lock and I the key that fit it, his fingers gliding gently over my side in long, tender strokes. Opening my eyes to glance towards the noise without actually moving, I noticed the blue and white flashing lights coming from his cell phone where it was vibrating on his bedside table and I nudged Levi to point it out, his attention so riveted on me that he had missed it himself.

He lazily grabbed the phone with his free hand and swiftly pushed a couple buttons, reading a text message and grinning at its contents before handing the phone over for me to read it as well.

_Mel said to tell you, stop stalling! Soli gets back today and the girls are getting together. She wants to take Kris. _The text was from Taylor and I looked up at Levi in question to see if he had any objections to me responding for him, but he smiled and nodded, indicating he didn't.

_He told me. Tell her I said sounds fun._ I was going Christmas shopping with Bree tomorrow, but I had nothing else going on today since Levi and I hadn't made any concrete plans. Plus I really did want to get to know some of the people around here better if they were all privy to this exclusive… club, for lack of a better word, that Levi belonged to.

_Good, she'll swing by for you in an hour._ His reply came right on the heels of mine, only a second or two later, so I had a feeling she would have been coming by in an hour regardless of whether he'd told me or not.

At least there was no rush to get ready if we had an hour because I didn't particularly care to get out of bed quite yet when doing so went hand-in-hand with the conclusion of this perfect morning with Levi. He did not seem to be in a hurry to end things either as he pulled me tighter against him after replacing his phone on his nightstand. Though judging by the nearly blinding brightness of the sunlight pouring into the room, it was already sometime in the afternoon. I must have slept longer than I realized.

I thought about what Taylor had mentioned in his first text about staling and wondered if that was why Levi had kept his distance from me, physically at least, since that day in my bedroom, never letting us get to that point again or farther until earlier this morning. It must be terrifying to share something so unusual and personal to someone you're only just starting to get to know, to put that much trust in another when you couldn't possibly anticipate what their reaction would be. I'd put off telling someone too if I were in his place. I'm not quite sure why, but thinking he'd wanted to wait until he told me to become intimate was profoundly touching.

Instead of idly pondering the subject any further and musing over his motives, I asked him straight out.

'Were you scared to tell me? Is that why we didn't do this before?' I'd sat up, bringing the soft midnight blue sheet with me and tucking it under my arms to secure it across my chest before signing my questions, wanting to see his face when I asked. His face revealed so much more of his thoughts than his words did, though those were always honest and very forth telling as well because he never held anything back when I asked him a direct question, something I greatly appreciated and tried to reciprocate.

Running a hand through his short onyx hair, making it adorably more rumpled as he sat up to face me as well, he signed, 'sort of.' The sheet had slid down the deep copper skin of his sculpted abdomen to pool low across his lap, only just barely covering him and leaving his hip exposed making my breath catch like it had encountered an unexpected block in my throat when I inhaled. The sight was momentarily distracting as the desire I'd felt for him this morning came back in full force and I unconsciously shifted closer to him.

He didn't seem to register my reaction, however, so I locked those thoughts away when I saw his head fall forward, chin dropping dejectedly to rest on his chest and shoulders slumping heavily. It was a sight I was all too familiar with, but one I had not seen since this summer and I felt his reluctance to state the actual cause of his hesitance as he tiredly rubbed the back of his neck.

Though I was exceedingly curious now, I regretted asking because I didn't want to force him to tell me something he didn't feel comfortable sharing. I could wait; there was no need to rush things anymore. It was just like this morning and I was more concerned about his struggle and making things easier for him than I was about the actual topic at hand.

However, before I could tell him to forget I asked, that it wasn't important and didn't matter, he signed, 'mostly I was worried I would not be able to stop and would force you to do more than you wanted to,' wincing throughout his confession.

I honestly found it impossible to believe he would ever do that, no matter what the provocation was, but he obviously did think himself capable of it, so I didn't argue. Instead, I pointed something out that, for whatever reason, he still wasn't getting.

'I want to be with you. Whatever you are ready for, so am I. There is nothing to force because if you don't want to stop, neither do I.'

Awed is about the only way I could describe his expression in that instant. Levi's massive warm hand came up to cup my cheek, engulfing the entire side of my head, his long fingers threading into my wild unbound hair while his eyes drifted shut and a small serene smile settled across his face. I knew then he believed me and that this would never be an issue with us again.

When he met my eyes again a silent understanding passed between us, accompanied by a thick, growing tension and sexually charged undercurrent that rippled around us, pulsing like a living thing or the changing tides though neither one of us moved an inch. It was like we were stuck, frustratingly glued in place, each forced to wait for the other to make the first move.

I almost did. I almost grabbed him, wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and kissed him, taking the initiative to get things going. Before this morning I wasn't completely certain I was ready to have sex, but now I think I am. I loved him entirely and I have no idea how I ever survived without him before, because I knew now I needed him. He was a part of me and I was incomplete without him.

I wanted to make the first move, my fingers even twitched at the thought as if intending to involuntarily act out my heart's desire completely independent of my mind's rationalizing and hesitation, but I didn't. I waited too long internally debating the issue and ended up psyching myself out as I often did thanks to my exceedingly shy nature, over thinking and over analyzing until the opportunity passed as if subconsciously sabotaging things.

'Tell me when you want to have sex?' He signed it as a question, the arch of his left eyebrow becoming more defined as it inched slightly farther up his brow than the right, but it had an underlying offer that I knew was valid anytime, even now.

At least this time when I let the chance go by, I was given a fresh opening because Levi didn't change the subject and while unlike him, this morning not withstanding, I wasn't all that surprised by the question given the atmosphere in the room. What did surprise me was that he appeared torn, as if half of him longed for me to say now while an equal part of him was desperately hoping I didn't.

My initial impulse had in fact been to say now and to hell with thinking about it first, but the vibe I felt from him made me rethink things, yet again, just as it occurred to me why he was probably hesitating. We had maybe twenty minutes until Melody showed up and the idea of rushing our first time did not sound appealing in the least. Sex could wait. Neither one of us was going anywhere.

'I will,' I promised, both of us releasing the breath we'd been anxiously holding at the thought of doing it now with a pair of relieved sighs. Another thought occurred to me as I watched him relax and quickly signed the question. 'Why worry then and not earlier today?' He sighed again, a weighty gust of air as he glanced away briefly like he knew we'd get to this eventually and was resigned to having this discussion.

'You were in heat.' His answer was the last thing I expected. The only way I could make sense of it in relation to him being distant for fear of forcing himself on me, was if he meant what female cats or dogs went through when they were ovulating and their every male counterpart in like, a fifty mile radius flocked to them for sex.

'Like a dog?' Before I realized it, I had signed the question, looking for confirmation of my thoughts. Levi didn't look all that thrilled with my analogy though he didn't deny it either, so not wanting to push the subject he was clearly reluctant to talk about, I simply finished with, 'interesting.'

'I'm sorry. It's a wolf thing,' he immediately apologized with a grimace and I hated that he felt the need to do so about something he obviously couldn't control. My stomach clenched, twisting painfully at the sight of his self loathing and ashamed attitude.

'Don't apologize, its part of who you are and I love all of you,' I insistently signed and his response was instantaneous, a relieved smile taking shape across his face before he kissed me. I could still feel his grin when our lips molded together and I wore a matching one. Once the kiss ended, he seemed more receptive, so I asked, 'what does it do or what happens when I am?' I got the gist of how the heat thing worked for dogs, but I honestly did want to know if it's the same or exactly how similar it is when I am.

'Really…' he paused to contemplate the best way to explain in a way or maybe with words I was likely to understand, running a hand through his messy hair before finishing with, 'makes you even more irresistible to me.' We shared a heated look, and I remembered how much I wanted him earlier, still did actually, and I could not imagine having these desires magnified or how he could have possibly dealt with it so effortlessly. 'It's more important later,' he added, redirecting my thoughts.

'Why?'

'Best chance to get pregnant,' he signed candidly. Kids. Wow, okay that was good to know. I guess it is like dogs then, only I just attracted Levi. A million screaming thoughts and questions started buzzing chaotically through my mind and I didn't know where to start.

Thinking about getting pregnant and kids was like getting doused with a bucket of ice water, successfully banking the flames of my desire as nothing else had this morning. I was now exceedingly grateful we hadn't rushed into having sex earlier because this brought home that we weren't quite ready yet.

We had never discussed this, the consequences of having sex, kids were a big deal and we should know where we each stood on the subject. There were a lot of things to take into consideration before jumping in, the majority of which had eluded me though before this as I sat in his bed with him, painfully aware that both of us were naked under the thin sheet, which even now was doing little to subdue the distraction that knowledge presented.

'Do you want to have kids?' He looked surprised, taken aback even so I quickly amended, 'not now—future, later.'

'Only if you do,' he replied immediately, but he must have interpreted something in my expression as dissatisfied or disapproving of his answer, because he continued, 'I've never thought about it, not really, but… it would be nice.'

'Yeah, very nice,' I agreed happily picturing a future with him that involved building a family. I wasn't ready now, but I definitely wanted that someday. His wistful expression faded after a few seconds, replaced with a much more serious air and I noticed his hands fidgeting a bit. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to bring it up. I was not entirely sure what though, so I tried to help by signing, 'we should talk about this more.'

'I should warn you, condoms don't work—the heat.' His face had two brilliant scarlet splashes across it that I'm sure mirrored the ones on mine and he had to sign it twice, the first time being too fast for me to follow. It was a little embarrassing to be talking about this, I was simply too shy for it not to be, but it was refreshing to know that we were already open enough with each other to be able to discuss these more sensitive subjects and I loved that.

'I'm on birth control,' I admitted with a shy smile that he returned. My mom had started me on it when I turned sixteen for just in case and now I was very thankful for that.

'It doesn't always work,' he pointed out with a sheepish expression, giving me the impression that because he turned into a wolf, the standard 92-99.7% clinical numbers reported for its effectiveness weren't quite the same as they were for normal people.

"Oh…" I breathed aloud, forgetting myself as I took in what his words were implying. He was right, accidents happen and it was nice, not to mention reassuring, that Levi was thinking ahead and being so responsible, but I really wanted to know what he was thinking because if this made him want to wait, then that was fine, no rush. He already promised this was forever, so again, we didn't need to hurry.

As if in answer to my thoughts, he carefully signed, 'we can wait if you don't want to risk it. It's still not likely to happen, but know that no matter what, I want to marry you someday and if it did happen, it—I would be happy.' I loved him more than ever right then, his sweet reassurances and his obvious love for me. I honestly doubted we had anything to worry about, but simply having this conversation made me feel more prepared to be with him than I had earlier. It also felt incredible to have opened up and participated in a discussion regarding such a significant matter with him and to discover we were on the same page about well, everything, was amazing. We were building the kind of relationship I always dreamed of having.

I kissed him then, pouring all of the passion and love I felt for him into that kiss and he responded with an equal intensity. He lay back, pulling me atop him as he did, his hands settling low on my waist and one of his long, lean legs was wedged between mine. Just as my hands began to wander down the ridges of his abs, he stopped us, stilling my progress and breaking the kiss to gaze into my eyes while our rapid, shallow breathing returned to normal. When he pulled me upright again, I knew what he'd sign before he did. 'We have to get ready, Melody will be here soon.'

I'd started keeping a couple extra changes of clothes in my car and a few necessities like a toothbrush in my purse for occasions like today when I wouldn't have a chance to run home after spending the night over here. I brought one of the outfits in with me last night, so I got dressed, pulling on a white dress with tiny purple flowers, a white hooded sweater and green tights that matched the leaves on my dress then throwing my hopelessly tangled hair up into a messy bun after giving up trying to work out the knots while Levi got dressed as well, slipping on a pair of dark sweats and a white t-shirt. Each of us spent more time exchanging the occasional shy glance as we dressed than we did getting ready since this situation was still so new for each of us.

When we eventually emerged from his room, the first thing I noticed was something dark soaring through the air, heading straight at Levi's head before he plucked it effortlessly from the space in front of his eyes like it had been hovering there instead of hurling towards him. The object was limp, hanging shapelessly from his closed fist and I realized they were the shorts he'd been wearing earlier. Looking up, I saw Melody sitting on the back of the family room sofa watching us with a knowing smirk.

'You forgot those outside,' she signed casually like it was normal to discard your clothes outside in winter and walk around naked or with fur instead, but maybe for her it was a commonplace occurrence. I stifled a giggle, thoroughly amused when Levi shrugged and winked at me, despite the bashful blush painting my face with fiery red strokes. 'So you know,' she signed, aiming the words at me. Even when she was trying to appear cool, calm, and collected as she was now, she looked about ready to burst at the seams, a bundle of uncontainable glimmering energy like a force of nature.

'I told her,' Levi interrupted to sign proudly and I wanted to kiss him for being so adorable.

'Evidently,' Melody sassed nodding to indicate the shorts before continuing, 'you did more than just talk.' Levi was blushing now too, though he looked no less pleased as he stepped closer so our sides were pressed together and Mel turned her attention back to me with an inquiring glance.

'Yeah, he showed me,' I confirmed leaning completely against Levi when a beaming smile came over her face and she hopped up excitedly, even clapping twice as she spun in a giggling circle.

'Told you she would take it well,' she signed smugly once facing us again.

'I forgot, you are always right,' Levi conceded, bowing regally as if he were gracefully admitting defeat rather than sarcastically mocking her.

'You think you would remember that by now,' Melody signed seriously, shaking her finger in a scolding manner afterwards, her dark shining eyes wide with a feigned disbelieving air like he was a hopeless pupil.

The urge to laugh at their teasing banter became irresistible at that point and when I gave in Mel joined me while Levi took my small hand in his, bring it to his lips where he placed a sweet kiss on the back of it. My laughter died at the intensity in his eyes, it was enough to leave me weak at the knee. This was happiness in its purest, truest form. Reality interceded when I heard Melody's thrilled, cooing sigh.

'What are you doing tonight?' Levi asked her while I pulled on my boots, which Melody had kindly gathered for me along with my coat and placed by the couch.

"Gossiping about you," I heard her announce clearly causing me to look up startled from my task, but she barely spared me an impish grin before I watched her sign, 'she will be fine, Levi. I won't let Soli corrupt her too much.' Melody's joking (I hope) response surprised me, and not in a good way, more a what-the-hell-am-I-getting-myself-into way and I think the same thought occurred to Levi because he looked like he was now debating if he should either grab me and bolt or drag me back to his room and refuse to let me go. Personally, I would have been alright with either one of those options happening, but alas, neither did.

Mel started muttering under her breath, but the volume was so low that the words were indistinct. They sort of faced off; communicating with looks alone and I decided it was best if I stayed out of it.

'Maybe I should—'

'Hang out with the guys. Randy is having dinner with his parents then meeting Freddie at First Beach, Taylor and Mark are stopping by later, Collin and Brady probably will too. Go have fun like we plan to,' Melody commanded cutting Levi off, her hands moving to rest on her hips when she was done, the stance more than anything declaring she would not back down on this.

They continued their stand off for perhaps another minute before Levi sighed nodding, accepting defeat then before I knew it, Mel had whisked me from the house and we were driving off in Levi's car, which she had "borrowed" the keys to since the car she'd recently purchased with some of her savings from working for Annabelle's catering company wasn't finished yet.

She told me about her new car on the way to her friends' shop and the apartment located above it that we were meeting the others at. It was her first big spend, though she hadn't actually spent much because it was a used car that didn't run anymore, an old Audi R8, but her dad and a couple of his friends were good with cars and they were fixing it up for her. Before now she hadn't needed a car very often and when she had, she'd just shared with Levi.

She didn't stop talking until she pulled into an empty space and put the car in park, trying to put me at ease I think because it was probably blatantly apparent how distracted I was. I knew she was practically dying to know what I thought about the wolf thing and what happened with Levi afterwards, but thankfully she didn't bring it up again after her first questioning, "well," went unanswered other than a softly hummed, "hmm," on my part. My head and well, my heart, were both still back with Levi and I wasn't really feeling this as much as I had been when I first saw the text message. His disinclination for me to attend this tonight had me partially wishing I wasn't, for more than just the fact I'd rather be with him because now I was tremendously nervous about ending up the center of attention when meeting and getting to know these people.

"This'll be fun, just you wait. You're gonna love them," Melody swore cheerfully, chuckling a little when I rolled my eyes, trying rather unsuccessfully to hide my smile, especially when in the next breath she playfully commanded, "now come on, let's get going!"

* * *

**End note: No, they won't get pregnant while still in high school, this was just about them trying to build a mature, responsible relationship.**


	26. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Sorry to post this, I hate author's notes myself since they seem like such a tease, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have to go out of town unexpectedly for about five weeks to teach a field mapping geology course at UNM. We're camping and there's no computed access so this story is basically on hiatus for the next month and a half to two months.

I wanted to let everyone know so you didn't think this story was abandoned or anything like that... I guarantee that I will be finishing it. I really am sorry to do this to everyone that has been following it since I know how much it sucks when things like this happen but it's unavoidable. If something changes and I am able to write I promise to get the chapter out as soon as possible otherwise I'll get it to you as soon as I get back and finish playing catch up with everything I'll be missing in my absence.

I have some free time in July that I'll be able to work on this so updates should come faster then and I'm really hoping to wrap up this story up by the end of summer. I also have one chapter left of Melody and Taylor's story so I'll get that out once I get back too. Thanks for understanding! Take care and enjoy the other spin-offs in my absence :)


	27. Author's Note II

**Author's Note II**

Hi everyone,

I was asked to post another author's note to let you all know what's happening with this story so here it is:

I'm sorry it's taking so long and I haven't forgotten about it, promise. I basically had my heart shattered this summer and it has really affected my writing. I've tried writing the next chapter about 10 times and each time it's ended with them hating each other and once even going so far as killing each other… yeah, ridiculous right? Evidently I suck at writing fluff when I'm miserable. As soon as I can get past this I'll get another chapter up though.

Anyways, thanks for the understanding, I really appreciate your patience and I hope everyone will keep reading when I do continue which will hopefully be very soon.

Cheers,

Dani


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